Africa needs regional cooperation, innovative financing to drive energy transition

Rwanda’s Minister of Infrastructure, Dr Jimmy Gasore, has called for cooperation and innovative financing to enable Africa to drive energy transition.

Speaking at a ministerial roundtable to discuss strategies for accelerating Africa’s energy transition at the 15th Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi, Gasore noted that the West African Power Pool, being championed by Nigeria and other members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other similar schemes, could be improved to lead a regional energy transition.

Gasore emphasised the need to address the continent’s financing challenges through regional cooperation and innovative mechanisms to unlock Africa’s vast renewable energy potential.

“Africa holds 60 per cent of the world’s solar energy potential but is currently utilising just one per cent,” Gasore said.

He noted that the continent also boasts abundant wind resources, significant hydropower potential in river systems like the Nile and Congo basins, and considerable geothermal capacity.

He said despite these resources, financial constraints remain a major hurdle to scaling renewable energy projects.

Gasore stressed the importance of regional cooperation in addressing these limitations as he cited the successes of the West African Power Pool and the Southern African Power Pool, as well as the progress of the East African Power Pool, as examples of how collaboration could help scale renewable energy projects.

“Packaging renewable energies as regional projects within these power pools can provide scale, a larger market, and economies of scale. This approach not only builds investor confidence but also strengthens the infrastructure needed for a reliable and interconnected energy system,” he said.

To attract private investment, Gasore stressed the need for guarantees and financing mechanisms that reduce project costs.

He proposed leveraging concessional financing from development partners through government on-lending to project developers, significantly lowering financing costs.