By Emmanuel Ijikanmi
African power specialists have referred to as for a shift from power transition to financial transformation, urging governments to hyperlink renewable power investments to industrialisation, job creation and native capability improvement.
The specialists made the decision on the inaugural Energy Transition Africa (ETA) Colloquium 2026, held just about on Thursday, with the theme: “Transition or Transformation? What Will the New Energy Economy Mean for Africa’s Development”
They mentioned that Africa’s power transition shouldn’t be measured solely by electrical energy technology, renewable power installations or investments attracted, however by its impression on industries, expertise, companies and livelihoods.
Vincent Egoro, the Founder and Executive Director of ETA, mentioned Africa’s biggest problem was turning ambition into functionality and functionality into alternative.
He mentioned power investments should ship advantages past infrastructure improvement by creating jobs, strengthening establishments and enabling African companies to compete, develop and retain extra financial worth domestically.
Egoro described engineers, technicians, researchers, entrepreneurs and regulators because the human infrastructure wanted to maintain Africa’s power transition.
In his keynote deal with, Yagouba Traoré, Head of Policy Planning and Strategy on the African Energy Commission of the African Union, mentioned practically 600 million Africans lacked electrical energy entry.
He added that shut to at least one billion Africans relied on firewood, charcoal or kerosene for cooking.
Traoré mentioned Africa’s considerable photo voltaic, wind, hydropower and geothermal sources, essential minerals and youthful inhabitants supplied alternatives to speed up industrialisation and strengthen its place in world power worth chains.
Traoré additionally referred to as for higher African participation in figuring out the phrases of the worldwide power transition.
Ejiro Gray, the Executive Director of Governance and Sustainability at Sahara Group, mentioned the excellence between transition and transformation trusted whether or not power investments constructed lasting financial capabilities or merely delivered infrastructure.
Gray mentioned Africa wanted to measure the financial worth retained domestically by way of procurement, technical experience, expertise improvement, productive power use and entry to capital.
She urged stakeholders to look past megawatts generated or oil and gasoline produced when assessing the advantages of power investments.
She added that African firms wanted alternatives to develop aggressive capabilities slightly than rely indefinitely on imported experience.
Dr Chantal Naidoo, the Founder and Executive Director of Rabia Transitions, mentioned financing preparations might decide whether or not Africa’s power transition delivered equitable improvement or bolstered present financial dependencies.
She warned that funding agreements ought to shield nationwide pursuits and guarantee communities shared in the advantages of power improvement.
Naidoo referred to as for financing preparations that prioritised social safety, distributed dangers extra pretty and supported built-in power techniques slightly than remoted tasks pushed primarily by business returns.
Maybel Acquaye, Policy Lead for Minerals and Mining Policy on the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, mentioned African nations ought to use the power transition to broaden productive financial actions and develop native enterprises.
Acquaye mentioned investments in clear cooking, photo voltaic irrigation and electrical mobility might create alternatives for native companies, enhance agricultural productiveness and generate employment.
She mentioned these advantages would rely upon acceptable insurance policies and expertise improvement.
Acquaye urged governments to determine commercially viable alternatives inside power worth chains, strengthen partnerships between industries and academic establishments, and promote regional cooperation to scale back manufacturing prices and enhance competitiveness.
Dr Bala Tyoden, Head of the Research and Development Unit on the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), mentioned electrical energy entry alone didn’t assure financial transformation.
He careworn the significance of dependable provide, upkeep and productive electrical energy use.
In an deal with on behalf of the company’s Managing Director, Tyoden mentioned Nigerians spent an estimated N16.5 trillion on petrol, diesel and turbines to offer their electrical energy in 2023.
He mentioned the expenditure illustrated the financial burden of unreliable energy provide.
Tyoden highlighted challenges involving renewable power asset upkeep, rural electrical energy entry and the necessity to join electrical energy provide with productive actions.
He cited rice milling, cassava processing and different small companies as examples of actions that might profit from dependable electrical energy.
Tyoden mentioned the REA wanted to strengthen asset administration, enhance efficiency monitoring and assist sustainable electrical energy markets.
He added that profitable rural electrification trusted maintaining infrastructure operational and making certain electrical energy supported livelihoods.
Four ETA fellows additionally introduced analysis analyzing financing, neighborhood participation and electrical energy infrastructure challenges throughout Africa.
Edward “Teddy” Odindo, a clear cooking modelling skilled at Kenya’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, mentioned Africa’s clear cooking problem concerned inadequate financing and a scarcity of investment-ready tasks.
He mentioned such tasks have been wanted to draw capital and broaden entry to wash cooking options.
Odindo referred to as for clearer duty for growing clear cooking funding alternatives, figuring out market constraints and serving to tasks progress from planning to monetary shut.
Nozuko Poni, Communications Manager at South Africa’s DG Murray Trust, mentioned communities wanted to grasp how power transition tasks labored, who benefited from them and the way they affected their lives.
Poni advisable incorporating neighborhood understanding and possession into mission agreements, supported by unbiased verification and common monitoring.
She mentioned the measures would assist guarantee affected communities participated meaningfully within the transition.
Damilola Olowookere, the Coordinator for Access to Energy at Nigeria’s PIND Foundation, mentioned some Niger Delta host neighborhood improvement trusts had funds earmarked for electrical energy tasks.
Olowookere advisable that the REA set up a register of eligible neighborhood trusts and join them with certified builders.
Kemoh Lumei, Energy Sector Director at Liberia’s Government-Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact Development Team, mentioned electrical energy reliability trusted greater than technology capability.
He recognized efficient upkeep, well timed repairs and enough distribution community assist as important to dependable energy provide.
Lumei referred to as for improved upkeep planning, well timed provision of restore supplies and common buyer satisfaction surveys to deal with persistent electrical energy provide issues.
Earlier, Deborah Bonney, a member of ETA’s inaugural fellowship cohort and Deputy Head of Research and Corporate Affairs at Ghana’s Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, moderated the colloquium.
In his closing remarks, Monday Osasah, Board Chair of ETA, congratulated the 14 fellows who accomplished the inaugural programme.
He described their analysis as an essential contribution to discussions on Africa’s power future.
Osasah urged the fellows to take their findings past the colloquium to tell public debate, assist communities and problem selections that didn’t serve the general public curiosity. (NAN)
Edited by Ese E. Ekama-Williams
