The African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, H.E. Commissioner Lerato D. Mataboge, has identified energy as one of the continent’s most critical priorities, not only for electrifying households, but for industrialising Africa and unlocking long-term economic sovereignty. She made this known on Thursday, January 22, during an interview on Energy: The Great Funding Gap at the World Economic Forum 2026 in Davos.
Speaking on the scale of the challenge, the Commissioner noted that Africa’s current installed generation capacity stands at approximately 240 gigawatts for a population of 1.4 billion people, roughly equivalent to Germany’s capacity serving just over 84 million people. While this gap underscores the depth of the challenge, it also represents a significant opportunity for accelerated investment and transformation.
Across the generation mix, solar remains central to Africa’s energy future, alongside substantial hydroelectric potential. However, the growing impact of climate change, particularly prolonged droughts, has begun to undermine hydroelectric reliability in several regions. As a result, African countries are increasingly exploring alternative baseload options, including nuclear energy.
Mataboge pointed to emerging global examples, including the deployment of small modular nuclear reactors, as a potential pathway for providing stable electricity, including in rural and remote areas. These technologies, she noted, represent a growing opportunity within the continent’s broader generation strategy.
According to her, beyond generation, transmission remains one of Africa’s most underdeveloped and urgent priorities. With 55 countries requiring interconnected transmission infrastructure, the continent faces a massive integration challenge. While most energy investments over the past 15 years have focused on generation, transmission infrastructure has lagged significantly, creating a critical bottleneck.
She also identified decentralised energy solutions, particularly mini-grids, as a significant growth area. Given Africa’s vast geography and dispersed demand, decentralised energy provision is increasingly seen as the future of power delivery on the continent, capable of accelerating access while supporting local economic activity.
Responding to a question on how African governments can ensure the energy transition delivers development and jobs, as well as economic sovereignty rather than just installed capacity, she stated that the challenge is not a lack of capital but the way African resources are deployed. Too often, domestic capital is channelled into low-risk instruments rather than real-sector infrastructure investments that meet the continent’s development needs. As energy demand continues to rise—driven in part by digitalisation and the growth of data centres—domestic resource mobilisation has become a central priority.
The Commissioner stressed that Africa’s energy transition must go beyond installed capacity to deliver development outcomes, including jobs, industrial growth, and economic resilience. While acknowledging the progress made by leading countries such as South Africa and Egypt, she emphasised that the continent’s renewable energy revolution must ultimately be driven by African capital and African agency.
She further noted that external partnerships must evolve beyond extractive models, ensuring that collaboration contributes directly to Africa’s industrialisation. This includes local manufacturing, value addition, and technology development for the renewable energy transition, rather than perpetuating a cycle of raw material exports and technology imports. She noted,
“Energy for Africa is not just about electrifying households, it is about electrifying dreams and industrialising our continent. The transition must deliver jobs, development, and economic sovereignty—not just installed capacity.”
Mataboge called for stronger partnerships with African financiers and corporations over the next 12 to 24 months, stressing the need to retain industrial benefits on the continent through local partnerships that support regional development.