Many of us take turning on a light switch or connecting our devices to a home Wi-Fi network for granted. If our phones need charging, we plug them in, if we want hot water we boil a kettle. These are things we don’t think about, because we don’t have to. But around 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa still live without access to electricity.   

In this episode of The Development Podcast, we look at Mission 300, an ambitious plan from the World Bank Group and partners, which will link 300 million people to electricity by 2030.

Speakers

• Ajay Banga, President, World Bank Group  
• Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of Tanzania  
• Victoria Kwakwa, Regional Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, World Bank Group   
• Andrew Herscowitz, the CEO of Mission 300 Accelerator, established by Rockefeller Catalytic Capital  
• Hassanein Hiridjee, CEO, Axian Group  
• Klaartje Schnade, Co-founder, Mwani Zanzibar  
• Nora Anyidoho, Ghanian Poet 

Timestamps

[00:00] Introducing the topic: Powering Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

[03:33] Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit

[06:28] The link between electrification and jobs: Visions of an entrepreneur in Zanzibar

[10:50] Achieving the Mission 300 target

[14:21] Partnerships are key to achieving the targets set by the Mission 300 plan

[20:13] The private sector is a crucial part of the energy puzzle

[28:12] Poem from Ghanaian poet, Nora Anyidoho

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ABOUT THE WORLD BANK

The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for low-income countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.