The World Bank has announced that it has concluded plans to allocate $5 billion to bring electricity to 100 million people in Africa by the end of the decade (2030).
This was made known by the President of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, while delivering his speech at the mid-term review of the International Development Association (IDA)’s $93 billion replenishment package on Wednesday, December 6, 2023, in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Banga highlighted the ambition as an example of how he plans to wield funds from the bank’s IDA, which provides zero- or low-interest loans to low-income countries, and why it’s important for donor countries to provide support.
What the World Bank President is saying
Banga said World Bank shareholders, donor countries and philanthropies needed to dig deeper to help IDA deliver better development outcomes to low-income countries.
- He said, “The truth is we are pushing the limits of this important concessional resource and no amount of creative financial engineering will compensate for the fact that we need more.’’
He also said the World Bank needs to revamp how it evaluates its performance to focus on improved outcomes, not numbers of projects or dollars disbursed.
That means moving towards platforms that can be replicated, such as an IDA-financed mini-grid that delivers electricity to rural communities in Nigeria.
- “But this is just one example, I want to see 100,000 – 200,000 – half a million more,” he said, adding that IDA was investing $5 billion to deliver affordable renewal electricity to 100 million Africans before 2030.
- The World Bank boss added, “But how can we hope to make even adequate progress while 600 million people in Africa – 36 million of whom live here in Tanzania – still don’t have access to reliable electricity? Put simply: We can’t.”
Pushes for more funding
The current, 20th IDA funding round is due to be completed on June 30, 2025, with the Zanzibar conference aimed at adding to that funding.
Banga used to launch his campaign for the subsequent round of funding to well exceed $93 billion.
The World Bank President in Zanzibar said, “The truth is we are pushing the limits of this important concessional resource and no amount of creative financial engineering will compensate for the fact that we need more funding. This must drive each of us to make the next replenishment of IDA the largest of all time.”
