For millions of people living in rural Africa, the first time a woman turns on a light bulb in her home is also the first step to a better life. That single light bulb can help lift her family out of poverty and into a life with economic opportunity, better healthcare, and improved education.

To make this opportunity possible for the 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa still without power, it is critical to focus on the continent’s power generation capacity. It is also essential to improve power delivery systems — the transmission and distribution infrastructure needed to vastly increase access to power supply, making it possible to turn on that light bulb. Ensuring families living in rural areas — the hardest ones to reach — have access to reliable and affordable electricity is especially challenging and will require a combination of increasing grid resources and significantly expanding off-grid energy systems.

As long standing rural electrification experts, NRECA International works with Power Africa and funding agencies like the World Bank to dive deep into these remote communities and develop strategies to support their energy needs.

Community engagement at the early stages of project development is a core business best practice. A number of projects have been delayed and burdened by unexpected costs associated with legal battles and community protest. Power Africa has played a role as a thought leader and purveyor of best practices on community consultation as a means to de-risk projects, keep transactions on track, and create shared value among companies and local stakeholders. 

In May 2017, Power Africa convened leaders from Kenya’s energy and civil society sectors to help drive power project development across the country while maintaining high standards for human rights and local development. During the workshop, more than 70 participants provided feedback on Power Africa’s draft Guide to Community Engagement for Power Projects in Kenya. The Guide provides information and suggestions to help power project developers successfully plan and execute community engagement efforts in Kenya with an emphasis on creating positive outcomes for all. Workshop participants represented government agencies, international finance institutions and banks, development partners, and civil society.

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With the adoption of Sustainable Development Goal 7, the world has rallied around the goal of universal access to electricity by 2030. The African Development Bank aims to provide universal access in Africa by 2025, and our readers know Power Africa’s target is 60 million new connections by 2030.

These goals to provide energy access might seem overly ambitious, given the fact that there are still more than 600 million people in Africa today who lack access to electricity. But, if we look back 10 years, we can see how much progress has been made in both grid and off-grid connection options. While the real numbers of connections appear small, the trends show the foundation has been laid for rapid increases in the next 10 years. Right now we are at roughly the midpoint between the launch of the Lighting Africa initiative and the planned achievement of universal access, so is a good time to take stock of the state of the market and where we might be in 10 years.