By Dr. Mohamed H’MIDOUCHE, Economist, author, researcher, and former international civil servant
Global crises, geopolitical shocks, and climate disruptions make the energy transformation of Africa more urgent. In addition to the efforts of states and development banks, there must now be a stronger mobilization of African private capital. Aliko Dangote’s industrial initiative and Azito’s financial structure illustrate two complementary paths. The challenge is clear: to convert the savings and assets of the continent into useful infrastructure, jobs, industrial capacities, and reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy.
A Global Crisis on an Ancient Divide
An enterprise that interrupts its production, a health center whose equipment stops, a family that loses its food due to lack of refrigeration: the electricity deficit is first measured in daily life. In its 2025 report, the International Energy Agency estimates that around 600 million Africans still lack electricity [1]. For those connected, outages, poor service quality, and cost can still be a major hindrance to economic activity.
The war in Ukraine since 2022, followed by the conflict in the Middle East in 2026, has increased tensions on supplies and prices. The rise in gasoline and diesel prices affects transportation, agriculture, logistics, and generators. The cost of backup electricity ends up in the price of goods and services, while low-income households have little means to absorb the shock.
The triple food, energy, and financial crisis of 2007-2009 had already revealed these interactions. The lesson remains: protect populations in the short term without sacrificing investments that will reduce their long-term vulnerability. Aid must be targeted, temporary, and regularly reassessed, while supporting energy diversification, network maintenance, and energy efficiency.
Africa, however, presents very different realities. Oil revenues do not guarantee satisfactory domestic supply. Landlocked countries bear transit costs; island states depend heavily on maritime freight and isolated power grids; conflicts weaken infrastructure and complicate maintenance. A uniform response would therefore be inadequate.
Climate Makes Energy a Social Protection Issue
Drought can simultaneously reduce harvests, incomes, and hydroelectric production. In 2024, low water levels in Lake Kariba caused prolonged outages and economic disruptions in Zambia and Zimbabwe, according to the World Meteorological Organization [2]. Floods can damage networks, while high temperatures increase cooling needs.
Therefore, energy decisions must integrate climate risks from the outset of projects. Diversifying the mix, strengthening the resilience of structures, and securing health centers, water pumping, and the cold chain directly protect populations. Hydropower retains a strategic place, but its future production must be assessed based on realistic hydrological scenarios.
The South African experience also highlights an obvious fact: building is not enough, maintenance is necessary. As of September 4, 2026, Eskom announced 476 consecutive days without national load shedding. This recovery underscores the role of maintenance, equipment availability, and management quality, without overlooking local difficulties. Building and maintaining must be part of the same investment strategy.
Dangote: From Private Wealth to Industrial Capacity
Aliko Dangote’s experience can encourage other African billionaires, without injunction or a unique model, to consider the role that productive and energy investments could play in their long-term strategies. His group led the construction of a large refinery in Nigeria by mobilizing its own capital and financial partners. On September 30, 2026, the foundation stone for a new refinery project was also laid in Lamu, Kenya [3]. This initiative opens up prospects for East Africa while naturally subject to the specific conditions of such a large investment.
In Senegal, Dangote Cement developed a cement plant in Pout, which started operations at the end of 2014. Although not in the energy sector, this project illustrates the capacity of an African group to invest beyond its national market, transform locally, and create a sustainable industrial base.
Another lesson worth noting is the use of capital markets. In September 2026, Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals launched an Initial Public Offering (IPO) to raise approximately $1.6 billion from the public and investors, notably to finance refining capacity expansion. This operation illustrates a particularly interesting avenue for financing large African infrastructures: opening part of the capital to mobilize public and institutional savings, while maintaining a reference shareholding to preserve strategic control and project industrial continuity. Infrastructure financing no longer relies solely on an entrepreneur’s wealth or bank debt; it can also involve citizens, pension funds, institutional investors, and African financial markets in value creation [6].
These experiences do not mean that all investors should turn to refining. Power plants, solar and wind farms, storage, mini-grids, gas infrastructure, and energy efficiency solutions address different needs. Their relevance depends on costs, available resources, demand, and the quality of structuring.
Azito: Organizing Financial Partnerships and Sharing Risks
In Abidjan, the Azito power plant is a direct example related to electricity production. Developed as an Independent Power Producer (IPP), it involves Globeleq and Industrial Promotion Services West Africa, a member of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development. The structure is based on a partnership between investors, operators, and financial institutions.
For the fourth phase of Azito, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank Group institution dedicated to the private sector, announced a €264 million debt financing in 2019, with the support of the African Development Bank (AfDB), the West African Development Bank (BOAD), and European institutions. The IFC provided a €46 million loan for its own account [5].
The concrete lesson is that an investor does not have to finance an energy infrastructure alone. They can provide equity, development capacity, and industrial commitment, then mobilize long-term loans around solid contracts. Development banks can complement this financing, improve maturities, and contribute to risk sharing.
Well-structured electricity projects can offer attractive medium and long-term returns. A long-term power purchase agreement, a creditworthy buyer, and controlled production costs provide revenue visibility. However, this profitability depends on financing costs, exchange rate risk, equipment availability, and compliance with contractual commitments. For large African investors, electricity can thus be a long-term asset useful to both the portfolio and the real economy.
An American Experience Shedding Light on African Possibilities
During a professional visit to the United States in 1998, I discovered a power plant designed to supply the industrial activities of orange juice producer Tropicana. Only three agents were present in a highly automated control room. This experience struck me with the direct link between energy security, technology, and industrial competitiveness.
In Bradenton, Florida, Tropicana has a natural gas cogeneration plant on its industrial site, while remaining connected to the Florida Power & Light grid. Cogeneration combines electricity production and heat utilization for industrial needs. This case illustrates the interest of self-production in securing activity and better utilizing consumed energy.
The lesson for Africa is immediate: an industrialist with regular demand can invest in production tailored to their needs or enter into a power purchase agreement with an independent producer. Agro-industries, cement plants, mines, or data centers can thus contribute to making new capacities financeable.
This logic could be deployed near mining deposits and major agricultural areas. Power plants adapted to available resources would supply the transformation of minerals and crops, as well as storage and refrigeration facilities. Africa could then export more processed products, create skilled jobs, and retain a greater share of added value on its territory.
Financing the Entire Electricity Chain, Not Just Power Plants
The call for private capital should also focus on less visible links: connections, storage, distribution equipment, metering, maintenance, and digital solutions. Installed capacity becomes a useful service only if electricity reaches users regularly and at an affordable price. Technical and commercial losses, unpaid bills, and arrears of administrations weaken the entire chain.
Mission 300, a joint initiative of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank, aims to provide electricity access to 300 million people in Africa by 2030. Private investors can contribute to this ambition through projects aligned with national plans, including decentralized solutions and productive uses of electricity. Financing should enable artisans, farmers, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to effectively use this energy.
Regional integration further expands opportunities. In West Africa, the West African Power Pool (WAPP) is developing interconnections and electricity exchanges. The ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CEREEC) supports renewable and energy efficiency policies. At the continental level, the African Single Electricity Market and the master plan of the African Union Development Agency – New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) give a broader perspective to these efforts. Morocco, for its part, brings significant experience in diversifying the energy mix and mobilizing investment in renewables.
The Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline and the trans-Saharan gas pipeline Nigeria-Niger-Algeria could support electricity production and industry. However, gas reserves alone do not guarantee delivery: developing deposits, securing volumes, contracts, and financing, and ensuring that interconnections to Europe also generate tangible benefits for African networks and economies are necessary.
Trade Shows to Turn Encounters into Investments
This mobilization would benefit from African electricity trade shows more focused on concluding transactions, similar to POWERGEN International, whose 2027 edition is announced in Salt Lake City, Utah. In addition to meetings already organized on the continent, these events should bring together African investors, independent producers, equipment manufacturers, industrial electricity buyers, commercial banks, development banks, and public authorities.
Their ambition should be measurable: present technically prepared projects, organize financing meetings, advance purchase contracts, form consortia, and publicly track commitments. Their success would be judged not by the number of participants but by the funds mobilized, contracts signed, and installations actually commissioned.
Creating an Environment Where Private Capital Can Truly Engage
For energy projects, currency, supply, and payment risks must be clearly allocated. Public guarantees should be assessed, capped, and transparent. Environmental requirements and the rights of affected communities should be integrated from the outset, not added at the end of the process.
Private investment does not exempt governments from protecting vulnerable households and underserved areas. However, it can increase available resources, accelerate implementation, and bring new skills. Africa needs more industrial initiatives, but above all projects that are measured by the actual electricity available, companies that produce, jobs created, and added value retained on the continent.
Therefore, the question is not to ask African billionaires to replace states or development institutions. It is to create conditions for more African capital to choose infrastructure, energy, and industry as long-term investment fields. Under these conditions, private wealth can become, alongside public action and multilateral financing, a real lever for energy sovereignty and economic transformation of the continent.
Acronyms and Abbreviations Mentioned
| Acronym | Meaning |
| AfDB | African Development Bank |
| BOAD | West African Development Bank |
| IFC | International Finance Corporation, a World Bank Group institution dedicated to the private sector |
| IPP | Independent Power Producer |
| WAPP | West African Power Pool |
| CEREEC | ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency |
| ECOWAS | Economic Community of West African States |
| AUDA-NEPAD | African Union Development Agency – New Partnership for Africa’s Development |
| SME | Small and Medium Enterprises |
| PPF | Project Preparation Facilities |
| IPO | Initial Public Offering |
Six Document Sources
1. International Energy Agency. Financing Electricity Access in Africa, 2025.
2. World Meteorological Organization. Extreme weather and climate change impacts hit Africa hard, Climate report 2024.
3. Kenyan Ministry of Information, Communication, and Digital Economy. Dangote Refinery Breakthrough Marks Major Milestone for Kenya’s Industrialisation Agenda, September 30, 2026.
4. Forbes. Africa’s Richest People 2026, ranking published on March 9, 2026, fortunes estimated as of March 1, 2026.
5. International Finance Corporation. Côte d’Ivoire – 264 million euro financing for Azito expansion, July 24, 2019.
6. Reuters. Facts about Nigeria’s Dangote oil refinery Initial Public Offering, September 14, 2026.
