NEWS

Tanzania, Nigeria, and Ethiopia have emerged as the leading beneficiaries of the World Bank-backed Mission 300 initiative, having connected more than 50 million people to electricity across Africa in less than 3 years.

The findings appear in the latest Mission 300 Progress Report, which tracks electricity connections delivered through World Bank Group-financed projects between July 1, 2023, and April 30, 2026.

The report shows that 85 electricity access projects have delivered new connections across 40 African countries, supplying power to households, businesses, schools and healthcare facilities.

Mission 300 aims to provide electricity access to 300 million Africans by 2030 through support from the World Bank Group and other development partners.

Tanzania recorded the highest number of new electricity connections, providing power to 7.5 million people. The country achieved the milestone through its Rural Electrification Expansion Programme, which connected five million people, and the Tanzania Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation Programme, which added another 2.5 million beneficiaries.

Ethiopia ranked second after connecting about 4.67 million people through four electricity access projects. The Ethiopia Electrification Programme accounted for 3.4 million new connections, while the Electricity Network Reinforcement and Expansion Project connected 1.1 million people. The Access to Distributed Electricity and Lighting in Ethiopia Project added another 165,000 beneficiaries.

Nigeria ranked third by connecting approximately 4.51 million people to electricity. The Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up Project accounted for 3.6 million beneficiaries, while the Nigeria Electrification Project connected 619,000 people. The Distribution Sector Recovery Programme added another 292,000 connections.

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