The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $3.9 million technical assistance initiative designed to transform energy commitments into actual power connections for millions of Africans living without electricity, marking a significant step toward the ambitious Mission 300 goal of electrifying 300 million people by 2030.

The two-year programme, officially designated as AESTAP Mission 300 Phase II, will deliver direct technical support to 13 African countries where national energy plans have been drafted but implementation has lagged.

The beneficiary nations span the continent from Chad in the north to Lesotho in the south, including major economies like Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia, alongside smaller nations such as Gabon, Mauritania, and Malawi. Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Namibia, and Uganda round out the list of participating countries.

The approval comes at a critical juncture for African energy access. While dozens of countries across the continent have launched National Energy Compacts over the past year, outlining how governments plan to expand electricity access and attract investment, the gap between planning and execution has remained substantial. These compacts represent binding commitments from governments to strengthen power sectors through regulatory reforms, improved utility performance, and coordinated investment strategies.

According to Director of Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulation , AfDB, Wale Shonibare, the programme addresses this implementation challenge directly. “Countries have made bold commitments through their energy compacts. Now, through AESTAP Mission 300 Phase II, we are helping them implement those commitments so that more households, entrepreneurs, and communities actually get electricity,” Shonibare explained.

The technical assistance will focus on four key intervention areas that address fundamental barriers to electricity expansion. First, governments will receive support to reform electricity regulations, improve planning frameworks, and restructure tariffs to create environments where private and public investments can proceed with confidence. Second, the program will work to strengthen national utilities, helping them deliver more reliable power while reducing technical and commercial losses that currently drain resources from already strained systems.

Third, the initiative will enhance data collection, research capabilities, and knowledge sharing across participating countries through instruments including the Electricity Regulatory Index and regional energy forums. Finally, and perhaps most significantly, expert advisers will be embedded within national Compact Delivery and Monitoring Units to help governments coordinate reforms across multiple ministries and track implementation progress in real time.

The programme builds directly on AESTAP Mission 300 Phase I, a $1 million initiative approved in December 2025 that focused on establishing and operationalizing the Compact Delivery and Monitoring Units themselves. These government-embedded teams serve as coordination hubs responsible for orchestrating energy reforms across different agencies and monitoring progress against compact commitments. Phase I concentrated on creating institutional capacity within these units through staff training, monitoring tool development, and strategic planning support.

Funded through the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, Phase II represents the African Development Bank Group’s contribution to accelerating compact implementation by supporting critical upstream policy and regulatory reforms. The program will operate in coordination with Mission 300 partners including the World Bank, national governments, and various development organizations to ensure aligned and mutually reinforcing efforts.

The combined $4.9 million investment across both phases underscores the development community’s recognition that technical expertise and coordination capacity often prove as critical as financial capital in expanding energy access. For the 13 participating countries, the programme offers specialised support to overcome the complex regulatory, institutional, and technical obstacles that have historically slowed electricity rollout even when funding is available.