Energy Access: More Than Just Connections
When talk about energy in Africa, the conversation often focuses on access, focusing on how many people have a grid connection, a light bulb, or a way to charge their phone. These milestones are important, but they miss a deeper story. Electricity is not just about consumption; it is an economic engine that underpins industrialisation, creates employment, and drives value chains particularly in Africa’s emerging green economy. Without reliable power, ambitious goals for renewable jobs, local manufacturing, and climate-aligned growth remain abstract. With it, they become livelihoods.
Across the continent, roughly 600 million people lack reliable electricity nearly half of Africa’s population and more than 80% of the global access deficit. This energy gap has clear economic consequences, businesses remain small and low-productivity because they cannot power machinery or digital tools, schools and clinics struggle to provide services, and rural economies remain disconnected from broader markets. Expanding electricity access is therefore not just a social good but a gateway to productive enterprise.
From Power to Industrialisation
Electricity is the prerequisite for industrialisation, particularly in a green economy. History shows that there are no high-income countries with low energy use economic growth and industrial development require reliable, abundant energy. This presents a dilemma for many African nations as they urgently need more electricity to power industrialisation, manufacturing, and services, even as global pressure mounts to pursue a low-carbon transition and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
Countries that link energy access to productive use see measurable economic effects. In Kenya, electricity access rose from around 37% in 2013 to roughly 79% in 2023, supported by geothermal, hydro, wind, solar, and off-grid solutions. This expansion has enabled new businesses in manufacturing, agro-processing, and services from cold storage for farmers to solar-powered workshops showing how consistent electricity transforms small enterprises into scalable businesses. In Mozambique, electricity access increased from about 31% in 2018 to 60% in 2024, thanks to national grid expansion and renewable projects such as the 1,500 MW Mphanda Nkuwa hydroelectric plant. Entrepreneurs there report that stable electricity not only increases their productivity but also boosts local demand and market reach. Across East and Southern Africa, initiatives backed by the World Bank have delivered improved power to 25 million people since 2018, including both on-grid and off-grid solutions that directly support small businesses, demonstrating how expanding electricity access remains central to the continent’s economic transformation even as it balances climate goals.
Jobs That Electricity Makes Possible
The link between electricity and employment is equally clear. Reliable power allows firms to operate longer, adopt mechanisation, and invest in expansion, generating jobs across multiple sectors. Africa currently has around 344,000 renewable energy jobs, a modest share globally but with significant growth potential. Modelling by IRENA and partners suggests that a faster energy transition could create 26 million additional jobs across the continent by 2050, including 8 million in renewable energy and millions more in energy efficiency and value chains. Importantly, these roles are not limited to energy utilities; they extend into manufacturing, agro-processing, logistics, digital services, and construction, providing pathways for youth and women to enter formal, stable employment.
Electricity as the Backbone of Green Value Chains
Electricity is also a critical enabler of green value chains. Firms that can power machinery and digital systems can add value locally, export processed goods instead of raw materials, and meet increasingly strict environmental standards. Ethiopia’s geothermal-powered industries support agro-processing firms that dry, mill, and package products for domestic and export markets, while Morocco’s expanding solar and wind capacity is attracting investment in battery assembly and electric mobility services. Electricity also underpins digital infrastructure, which is central to modern value chains, from logistics platforms to climate data services and online marketplaces.
AU Initiatives and Continental Leadership
The African Union recognises electricity’s central role in economic transformation. Continental initiatives, such as the Africa Energy Efficiency Facility (AfEEF), aim to mobilise investment, harmonise standards, and improve energy productivity, with targets to create up to 1 million energy efficiency jobs by 2040. AU strategies also promote green hydrogen, sustainable fuels, and energy efficiency, aligning electricity expansion with industrial and climate goals. Platforms such as Transforma, launched at COP27, seek to accelerate cleaner fuel adoption, including natural gas, by integrating regulatory frameworks and linking regional markets under a common policy approach. This continental leadership complements national efforts, ensuring that energy access supports livelihoods, industrialisation, and green value chains.
Natural Gas: A Transitional Fuel
While renewable energy is the long-term goal, many African countries view natural gas as a transitional energy source, a lower-carbon alternative to coal that can provide reliable baseload power while renewable capacity scales up. Gas already accounts for around 41% of Africa’s power generation mix, supporting industries that require stable electricity. Countries with significant gas reserves, including Nigeria, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Senegal, are exploring ways for gas to complement renewables, smoothing grid variability and catalysing industrial growth. The challenge is to ensure gas infrastructure does not crowd out renewable deployment and that it is paired with emissions management and workforce reskilling.
From Electrons to Livelihoods
Electricity is far more than a utility; it is the backbone of Africa’s green economy. It enables industrial capacity, creates jobs, and powers value chains that raise incomes and expand opportunity. Increasing access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy allows economies to move from subsistence to productivity, from informal survival work to formal employment, and from exporting raw materials to producing competitive green goods. The energy debate becomes meaningful when it is about real livelihoods, thriving industries, and inclusive growth not just megawatts. That is why electricity, and the policies that ensure strategic access to it, must sit at the heart of Africa’s development and climate agenda.
Author: Kennedy Simango
Research Analyst
