Presentation of key findings of IEA report Financing Electricity Access in Africa: a lusophone event

Paris time: 18:30-19:30

The Financing Electricity Access in Africa report, launched in October 2025, provides a comprehensive analysis of the financing landscape for electricity access in Africa, detailing current investment flows, key barriers, and opportunities for scaling up access across Africa.

Recognising the importance of making key reports accessible to a broader audience, and with the support of the government of Portugal and its Energy Agency (ADENE), the IEA is preparing a Portuguese translation of this publication. This initiative will help ensure that Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa, Latin America, and beyond can benefit from the report’s insights and recommendations.  

The IEA is pleased to present the key findings of the report in Portuguese, at a dedicated Lusophone event, hosted at the Portuguese Pavilion during COP30 in Belém, Brazil. The event will feature a high-level opening session with remarks from IEA Deputy Executive Director, Mary Burce Warlick, Portugal's State Secretary for Environment and Energy, Jean Barroca, and the President of ADENE, Nelson Lage.

Access to electricity is a cornerstone for economic development, poverty reduction and social equity. However, almost 600 million people in Africa lack access to electricity today. The report reveals that, despite the steady growth in finance commitments since 2019, annual funding for electricity access in Africa is still far below what is needed to achieve universal, reliable, and affordable electricity by 2035. Without a significant increase—nearly USD 150 billion by 2035, or about six times current annual levels—around 500 million people could remain without electricity at the end of the decade. 

Building on the analysis of the current landscape, this report offers deeper insights into how investment evolves to reach universal access—quantifying the scale of private and public financing required as well as the affordability challenges across the continent.

The report calls for a dramatic scale-up in both public and private investment, targeted use of concessional finance, regulatory reform, and innovative financial instruments, alongside measures to lower financing costs and prioritise affordability for the most vulnerable households. Coordinated action across governments, development partners, financial institutions, and the private sector will be essential to ensure that electricity access is expanded and remains reliable and affordable for all.