Africa’s Power Shortage Opens a $120 Billion-a-Year Investment Market

U.S. investment around the DRC-Zambia Copperbelt is reaching the electricity system.

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency committed $3 million on September 22 to study new hydropower and electricity distribution in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Lualaba Province and Zambia’s North-Western Province.

The work would serve copper and cobalt mines and more than three million people.

USTDA also backed early-stage work on Buenassa Resources’ proposed copper-and-cobalt refinery in Lualaba.

The agency is funding studies covering the refinery’s design and commercial viability. The projects follow U.S. financing for the Lobito railway, which provides another route from the Copperbelt to Angola’s Atlantic coast.

U.S. interest in the region comes while critical-mineral supply remains concentrated in China. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping extended their trade truce during Xi’s Washington visit, but rare earths remain an issue between the two countries.

China accounts for up to 70% of rare-earth mining and more than 85% of refining and production.

Around 600 million people in Africa still live without electricity. North Africa and South Africa hold more than 65% of the continent’s installed power capacity, although they account for less than 20% of its population.

Africa Power Investment Still Trails Electricity Demand

Less than $2.5 billion a year has been committed to electricity access in Sub-Saharan Africa in recent years.

The International Energy Agency puts the amount needed to reach universal access at about $15 billion a year through 2035. That estimate covers access projects, not the full electricity system.

The IEA puts annual spending on Africa’s electricity sector at less than $30 billion in 2022. Under its Sustainable Africa Scenario, the figure exceeds $120 billion by 2030.

Networks account for a large part of the increase, with annual spending rising from about $10 billion to nearly $50 billion.

North Africa and South Africa receive more than 45% of energy investment on the continent, despite having less than 20% of its population.

Private capital has largely gone into utility-scale renewable projects. Transmission, distribution and electricity access rely more heavily on governments and development-finance institutions.

Africa has about one-fifth of the world’s population and receives less than 3% of global energy investment.

The IEA estimates that financing a utility-scale energy project on the continent can cost at least two to three times as much as in advanced economies and China.

Copper Is Bringing Power Capital Into the DRC and Zambia

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation closed a $553 million loan for the Lobito Atlantic Railway in December 2025.

The railway runs about 1,300 kilometers across Angola to the port of Lobito. DFC expects freight capacity to reach 4.6 million tonnes a year and critical-mineral transport costs to fall by as much as 30%.

Electricity is now part of the U.S.-backed activity around the Copperbelt. USTDA awarded Anzana Electric Group $3 million for feasibility work in the DRC and Zambia.

In Lualaba, engineers will assess mining demand and the existing distribution system, including rehabilitation of power generation. Additional hydropower and network expansion are included in the assignment.

In Zambia, the contract extends to engineering and procurement documents that could be used for construction tenders.

It also includes the financial and environmental work needed to develop the proposed infrastructure. Anzana is preparing the business and legal documentation for expansion in both countries.

Buenassa Resources plans a copper-and-cobalt refinery in Lualaba with initial annual capacity of 30,000 tonnes of copper cathode and 5,000 tonnes of cobalt sulfate.

The company targets operations in 2029 and has estimated the project at $700 million. USTDA agreed on September 23 to finance pre-feasibility work on the refinery. No verified electricity requirement has been published by USTDA or Buenassa.

American companies can compete for part of the work now. Anzana is seeking qualified U.S. firms for the feasibility contract financed by USTDA, with proposals due October 26.

USTDA expects the electricity project to create opportunities for American hydropower and distribution suppliers.

Its Buenassa agreement also covers potential U.S. equipment and technical services for mineral processing.

Refining Has Already Changed Africa’s Energy Trade

More than $20 billion went into the Dangote refinery in Lagos, now operating at 700,000 barrels a day.

Nigeria exported about 350,000 barrels a day of petroleum products in the second quarter of 2026, while seaborne imports fell below 130,000 barrels a day. They had been close to 400,000 barrels a day in 2023.

Dangote is working on plans for a 700,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Lamu, Kenya. Site selection and soil testing are underway alongside engineering work.

Dangote has said company cash and bond financing could be used, along with proceeds from an initial public offering.

In Nigeria, Infragora Global Capital is developing data centers in Lagos and Delta states through its AFRIDATA platform.

The two sites are designed for an initial 60 to 70 megawatts of combined capacity, with expansion to 100 megawatts.

Lagos would serve AI and cloud computing, while the Delta site would add computing capacity and disaster recovery.

USTDA is providing $1.87 million for feasibility work on the two sites. Nigeria had 13,625 megawatts of grid-connected generation capacity in April, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission. An average of 4,286 megawatts was available for dispatch.

Africa’s Next Infrastructure Cycle Runs Through Power

Mission 300 had connected more than 50 million people to electricity across 40 African countries by June 2026.

The World Bank Group and African Development Bank Group had committed nearly $15 billion to related projects, alongside about $4.5 billion in co-financing.

More than $50 billion in development finance had been pledged by July, with much of it still to be deployed through 2030.

Zafiri reached a $176 million commercial launch in June. The Mission 300 fund invests in distributed renewable-energy businesses and counts IFC, the African Development Bank Group and FirstRand among its investors. It is targeting $300 million at final close.

In July, the African Development Bank approved up to $110 million for Ethiopia’s 300 MW Aysha wind project.

The project includes a 230 kV transmission connection and is expected to generate about 1,189 GWh a year.

A month earlier, the World Bank approved $1.6 billion for a 10-year East African program covering transmission and cross-border electricity trade.

South Africa is setting up a $500 million credit-guarantee vehicle backed by the World Bank, with transmission among its initial targets.

The program is expected to mobilize about $10 billion over ten years. The country’s transmission plan calls for roughly 14,000 kilometers of new lines to connect 56 GW of generation by 2032.

Africa is still spending less than $30 billion a year on electricity against the more than $120 billion envisaged for 2030 under the IEA’s Sustainable Africa Scenario.