African finance leaders rally $250bn institutional capital behind mission 300
In BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of the Congo, African finance leaders have called for stronger coordination among Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), to unlock an estimated $250 billion in assets and accelerate the delivery of Mission 300, a joint initiative of the African Development Bank Group and the World Bank Group aimed at connecting 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.
The appeal was made during a high-level meeting on the sidelines of the AfDB Annual Meetings in Brazzaville, where policymakers and financial institutions discussed strategies to mobilise African capital, for large-scale energy investments. Speaking at the event, AfDB Vice President Kevin Kariuki said, achieving Mission 300 would require collective action across the continent’s financial ecosystem. “No single institution can deliver the Mission 300 goal alone. We need African capital to work more systematically for African development”, he said.
Financial commitments are already emerging. The Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement announced a commitment of 1.1 billion CFA francs (about €1.7 million) to support the initiative. The pledge was disclosed by Oumar Tembely during discussions on establishing a dedicated Mission 300 African DFI coalition.
Mission 300 is expected to require about $238 billion across its first 30 participating countries, with nearly half of the funding anticipated from private-sector sources. Participants highlighted blended finance structures and risk-mitigation instruments as critical tools for attracting investment into energy infrastructure projects. The meeting also spotlighted the vast financing potential within African markets. According to Constant N’zi, African commercial banks collectively hold around $2.5 trillion in assets, presenting a significant opportunity to support infrastructure and economic development.
Stakeholders argued that African DFIs are well positioned to drive the continent’s energy transition due to their local market expertise and long-term development mandates. However, challenges including fragmented coordination, limited institutional capacity and inadequate risk-sharing mechanisms continue to constrain investment flows.
To address these barriers, participants proposed the creation of a Mission 300 DFI coalition that would streamline collaboration, improve investment coordination and help channel African capital into priority energy projects. The initiative is also aligned with the New African Financial Architecture for Development framework championed by the AfDB.
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