Conducive regulatory policies needed to Africa’s energy transition: experts

Addis Ababa, July 14, 2023 (FBC) – Infrastructure experts have reiterated the need for conducive policy and business environment in Africa, which they say, is a critical first step to attract the private sector in urgently needed renewable energy investments needed for economic and social development.

Robert Lisinge, Acting Director Private Sector Development and Finance Division, Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said Africa needs to rapidly scale up investment in clean and renewable energy to seize much of the 8,000 GW of added clean energy sources expected globally by 2030 but needs the right framework to attract private sector financing.

Presenting an assessment of Africa’s SDG7 status and challenges, ECA Economic Affairs Officer, Anthony Monganeli Mehlwana, highlighted that 43 percent of Africa’s population is still without access to electricity and 170 million Africans need clean cooking technologies.

According to the African Development Bank, Africa’s power sector needs an annual investment of $90 billion until 2030 if the continent is to meet key energy demands.

Contributing to the discussion, the Secretary General of RES4Africa Foundation, Roberto Vigotti, emphasized the need for bankable clean energy projects, robust investment frameworks and mechanisms to de-risk investment on the continent.

“We need to decrease the cost of capital; sometimes a solar project in Italy costs seven times less than doing the same in Uganda. This is because the perspective of risk is high. We need to decrease the cost of capital by mobilizing green bonds and de-risking investment,” Vigotti said.