EU Announces €545M Package in Support of ‘Scaling Up Renewables’ in Africa
On the sidelines of #UNGA80, European Commission President Ursula von de Leyen co-hosted the Global Citizen Festival with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Intervening via videoconference, she announced that Team Europe will mobilize EUR 545 million to boost the #EnergyTransition and scale up renewables in Africa.
The renewable energy market in Africa is simply huge with still 600 million Africans without access to grid electricity. To close the huge #ElectricityAccess chasm in Africa, some experts believe that part of the solution rests in the large-scale and accelerated deployment of off-grid mini #PV systems.
“The choices Africa makes today are shaping the future of the entire world. A clean energy transition on the continent will create jobs, stability, growth, and the delivery of our global climate goals. The EU, with the Global Gateway investment plan, is fully committed to supporting Africa on its clean energy path.”
EC President Ursula von der Leyen
To date, the financing allocation by country is as follows:
| No. | Country | Project | EUR M |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cote d’Ivoire | Transmission Line (Eastern Backbone) | 359.4 |
| 2 | Cameroon | Rural Electrification | 59.1 |
| 3 | Somalia | Renewable Energy, Circular Economy, Climate-Resilient Food Systems | 45.5 |
| 4 | Madagascar | Mini-Grids | 33.2 |
| 5 | Lesotho | Renewable Lesotho Program | 25.9 |
| 6 | Mozambique | Private Sector Toward Decarbonization | 13.0 |
| 7 | Congo Brazzaville | Renewable Energy | 3.5 |
| 8 | Central Africa | Central African Power Pool, Friendship Loop TL | 3.3 |
| 9 | Ghana | Utility PV Project | 2.0 |
Thus, the financing from the EU is primarily intended to deploy renewable energy, enhance transmission, and improve electricity access. The EU is making this financing facility available to Africa via its flagship Global Gateway Initiative (#GGI).
For his part, South African President Ramaphosa highlighted that the ‘Scaling Up Renewables in Africa’ campaign will culminate with a high-level event during the G20 Summit (#G20Summit2025) to be held in Johannesburg in November 2025. The Campaign is driven by international NGO Global Citizen with the support of the International Energy Agency. The Campaign will work to triple renewable energy use and double energy efficiency in order to move toward targets set at #COP28.