AfDB Approves Significant Energy Access Financing for East Africa

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2025

Projects in Tanzania, Rwanda, and Zambia that assist power generation, transmission, and clean energy access have received funding approval from the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Installing high- and medium-voltage undersea power lines to link the Mafia Islands and Zanzibar to the national grid will cost Tanzania $282 million. Through this project, power capacity will be increased from 143 MW to 440 MW, and 465,000 new customers will be connected, with 335,000 users receiving clean cooking equipment. By 2030, Tanzania wants to increase access to clean cooking and energy from 46% to 75%.

The Energy Sector Result-Based Financing initiative in Rwanda will receive €173.84 million to upgrade and extend the country's system. The project will install streetlights along 200 km of roadways, provide clean cooking technologies to 100,000 customers and 310 public institutions, implement off-grid solutions for 50,000 families, and enable power access for 200,000 households and 850 productive-use clients.

To encourage the use of renewable energy, the AfDB is investing $40 million in equity in Project Zafiri, a distributed energy platform in Zambia. The bank plans to connect 300 million new customers throughout Africa by 2030, estimating that distributed energy resources will account for more than half of new electrical connections