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The African Development Bank has approved a $3.9 million, two-year project to help Nigeria and 12 other African countries expand access to electricity by 2030.
The approval was granted by the bank’s Board of Directors and disclosed in a statement published on its website on Friday.
The project will support the implementation of National Energy Compacts under Mission 300, a joint AfDB and World Bank initiative to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.
The project, known as AESTAP Mission 300 Phase II, will provide technical support to 13 countries over the next 24 months.
The AfDB said the project will help countries move from energy plans to actual electricity connections for homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses.
“The new project, known as AESTAP Mission 300 Phase II, will provide direct technical support to 13 Mission 300 countries over the next 24 months, enabling them to move from documented energy plans to actual electricity connections for homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses,” the statement said.
The beneficiary countries are Chad, Gabon, Tanzania, Mauritania, the DRC, Kenya, Nigeria, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Malawi, Lesotho, Namibia, and Uganda.
In practical terms, AESTAP Mission 300 Phase II will help governments improve electricity regulations, planning, and tariffs so investments can move forward; strengthen utilities so they can deliver more reliable power and reduce losses; support better data, research, and learning across countries through tools like the Electricity Regulatory Index and regional energy forums; and place expert advisers inside national Compact Delivery and Monitoring Units to help governments coordinate reforms and track progress.
Wale Shonibare, Director of Energy Financial Solutions, Policy, and Regulation at the AfDB, said countries had already made “bold commitments through their energy compacts.”
“Now, through AESTAP Mission 300 Phase II, we are helping them implement those commitments so that more households, entrepreneurs, and communities actually get electricity,” Shonibare said.
The new project follows the approval of AESTAP Mission 300 Phase I in December 2025. Phase I provided about $1 million to help countries set up Compact Delivery and Monitoring Units within their governments. These units coordinate energy reforms across ministries and track progress.
Phase II will build on that work by providing hands-on technical support to carry out planned reforms.
The AfDB said the project will be implemented in coordination with Mission 300 partners, including the World Bank, national governments, and development organisations.
