Panel: Power Africa: Partnerships as a Source of Power

White House Summit on Global Development - July 20, 2016

Two out of three people in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity, severely limiting access to quality health care, education, and economic opportunities for more than 600 million people. To help overcome this challenge, President Obama launched Power Africa in 2013 to double access to energy in sub-Saharan Africa. The United States' initial $7 billion commitment has leveraged nearly $43 billion in commitments from the public and private sectors, including more than $31 billion in commitments from private sector partners. With Power Africa support, transactions are expected to generate more than 4,600 MW have reached financial closure, putting us on course to increasing access to energy by 30,000 megawatts and add 60 million new electrical connections by 2030.