By Adnan Adams Mohammed
Ghana’s Energy Minister, John Abdulai Jinapor, has called on governments, businesses, investors, and civil society to work together to address Africa’s energy challenges.
Speaking at the Future of Energy Conference 2025, Minister Jinapor emphasized the need for collaborative efforts to ensure a sustainable energy future for the continent.
The conference, themed “Financing Africa’s Energy Future: Unlocking Investments for Energy Access and Economic Transformation,” brought together stakeholders to discuss the critical role of energy in driving economic growth, industrialization, and social development in Africa.
It is estimated that around US$500 billion is needed in Africa to close the energy poverty gap. Also, over 600 million Africans lack electricity and nearly a billion rely on traditional biomass for cooking.
“US$500 billion is the cost for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to close the energy poverty gap & transition to a sustainable basis”, Suneeta Kaimal, President and Chief Executive Officer of NRGI alarmed in her keynote address at the Future of Energy Conference 2025 (FEC 2025). “By contrast, in 2023, financing for clean & renewable energy in all developing countries, not just SSA, reached only US$22 billion.”
She further noted that, “Governments across Africa spend nearly 17 percent of their revenues on debt service—the highest of any developing region. Over half of Africans now live in countries that spend more on debt than on health or education.”
These are mind boggling statistics that challenge the reality of ‘Just Energy Transition’ and financing needs. Just a year ago, many still believed that bridging this massive financing gap might be achieved through “blended finance”. Blended finance is the idea that we use relatively small amounts of public finance to de-risk and leverage much larger flows of private investment. That was how the EU and the US managed to recover from the 2008 financial crisis.
Apparently, at the fourth Financing for Development Conference in Seville, Kenya helped drive the launch of a bold new coalition, joined by Benin, Sierra Leone, Somalia and others. Together, they committed to taxing premium air travel to raise new, additional, and predictable flows of public finance for sustainable development.
If implemented globally, this measure alone could raise more than US$80 billion in revenue—not loans or aid—every year. To put this in perspective: the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that achieving universal access to modern energy in Africa requires only US$25 billion each year.
At first glance, this is just another tax. But it is far more significant. It represents the kind of financial innovation that African leaders can replicate, scale up, and channel to unlock energy access and economic transformations for Africa.
Meanwhile, Hon Jinapor highlighted Ghana’s initiatives to promote sustainable energy, including the Energy Transition Framework, Renewable Energy and Green Transition Fund, and utility-scale solar projects. He also emphasized the importance of a just transition to clean energy, ensuring that it does not undermine energy affordability, industrial growth, or jobs.
“We must mobilize sustainable financing mechanisms, derisk energy investments, and scale up innovation and research in clean technologies,” Minister Jinapor said. “By working together, we can light up Africa, power the engines of transformation, and ensure that the future of energy is the future we all deserve.”
The Minister’s call to action was met with enthusiasm from the audience, who recognized the urgent need for collective action to address Africa’s energy challenges. As the continent continues to grapple with energy poverty and climate change, the Future of Energy Conference 2025 provided a timely platform for stakeholders to share ideas, collaborate, and commit to decisive action .
In his presentation, Yaw Appiah Lartey, Africa Head of Infrastructure & Capital Projects at Deloitte, drummed home the fact that, even in Africa’s high-risk markets, projects can attract investment when they are structured, de-risked, and impact-driven.
“The path to bankability lies in blending innovation with risk mitigation, strong partnerships, and alignment with both investor expectations and local realities”, he pointed.
“However, the question remains, How do we ensure more of Africa’s clean energy ideas make that leap from concept to investment?”, he quizzed.
Subsequently, in his closing remarks, Ben Boakye, Executive Director of African Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) gave key highlights of the Future Of Energy Conference 2025, which included; the fact that, true energy access goes beyond grid connections—it means ensuring that households, businesses, schools, hospitals, and industries cannot only access power, but also afford it and use it productively. Energy access is a matter of dignity, equity, and opportunity.
“Africa’s energy future is inseparable from its broader development agenda. Building sustainable, inclusive, and competitive energy systems is essential for resilience, poverty reduction, and positioning the continent as a strong voice in the global energy transition”, he reiterated.
“Energy transition must be shaped by Africa’s own interests and realities. With a projected population of 2.5 billion by 2050, universal, affordable, and reliable energy access will be critical for unlocking productivity, raising household incomes, advancing gender equity, and driving economic transformation.
“Given that African governments are already financially overstretched, they cannot carry the burden of risk alone. Innovative financial instruments must be designed to de-risk investments while attracting private sector capital. At the same time, governments must strengthen their capacity to negotiate, structure, and manage bankable projects—engaging professional transaction advisors early to avoid poorly structured contracts.
“Finally, regional cooperation through integrated energy markets and cross-border infrastructure will be vital for achieving cost efficiency, ensuring energy security, and accelerating Africa’s transition to a just and inclusive energy future.”
