Lighting the Path for Mission 300

When Mission 300 launched in 2024, the initiative set an ambitious goal: connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.

Just one year later, 30 million people now have electricity access, over 150 projects are advancing across 40+ countries, and over $50 billion in financing has been pledged to translate this ambitious goal into a reality.

A First Mover

Through its Mission 300 National Energy Compact, Zambia has pledged to achieve universal electricity access by 2030 and to grow non-hydropower renewables from just 3 percent today to 33 percent. The country has recorded some of the fastest gains in electricity access in Sub-Saharan Africa, translating its commitments to the effort into real progress on the ground.

Zambia’s president Hakainde Hichilema speaks at the Forum for Africa Conference 2025 in Lusaka, Zambia. (Photo Credit Luke Katemba)

In 2017, only about 30 percent of the population was connected. Today, access has risen to nearly 50 percent. Yet this also means half the country — mostly rural, dispersed communities — still await connection. Reaching them will require bold reforms and adaptive solutions. At the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Zambia launched the 1,000 Mini-Grid Initiative, an effort to connect 1 in rural areas to electricity

Mini-grids are designed to do more than light homes: they power farms, rural industries, and schools, stimulating local economies and attracting investment. During a recent visit to one of the mini-grid sites in Petauke, Eastern Zambia, Andrew Herscowitz — the CEO of Mission 300 — put it plainly:

For remote communities like Petauke, it would take a lifetime for the national grid to reach them.
Andrew Herscowitz
CEO of Mission 300

Mini-grids change that, bringing power and opportunities to communities within a few months.

A 100-kilowatt-peak solar site in Kandongwa, Petauke district, Eastern Zambia serving 300-400 homes and businesses. It’s operated by ENGIE Energy Access. (Photo Credit Luke Katemba)

In addition to technological solutions, policy updates — including reforms to the Electricity and Energy Regulation Acts — are modernizing tariffs and improving utility performance. Zambia is also setting up a Compact Delivery and Monitoring Unit to keep execution on track.

Diversifying the Energy Mix

Hydropower currently accounts for 80–90 percent of Zambia’s electricity, but recurring droughts have exposed its vulnerability. In response, Zambia is fast-tracking solar.

Two major projects have come online in just the past year: the 94-megawatt (MW) Itimpi Solar Station and the 100 MW Chisamba Solar Plant. Together with other ongoing government and private-sector projects, Zambia is marching towards its target of 1,000 MW of solar capacity by 2025.

Private developers are responding to Zambia’s signals by deploying rural mini-grids that serve thousands of households, schools, and businesses.

Irrigation is enabling farmers such as Timothy Lungu in in Kandogwa, Petauke district, Eastern Zambia to have produce even during times of drought. (Photo Credit Luke Katemba)
Irrigation is enabling farmers such as Timothy Lungu in in Kandogwa, Petauke district, Eastern Zambia to have produce even during times of drought. (Photo Credit Luke Katemba)

Zeferino Tembo, a resident living near the Kanyanga mini-grid site in Eastern Province — a 100-kilowatt-peak installation operated by ENGIE Energy Access — reports that his seed-oil extraction business is now much more profitable than it was when he relied on diesel. His energy costs are also one-third of what they were, allowing him to expand his business, provide better for his family, and employ young people. For Tembo and others in the community, the outlook is positive.

Zeferino Tembo Sr. loads sunflower seeds into his oil extractor machine in Kandongwa, Petauke district, Eastern Zambia. (Photo Credit Luke Katemba)

Financing and Partnerships

In July, the World Bank approved $200 million through the Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation (ASCENT) program, set to provide energy access to more than 1 million Zambians in the next five years. The Zambia Energy Demand Stimulation Incentive (ZEDSI) — backed by SEforALL through support from The Rockefeller Foundation — aims to ensure off-grid connections also result in economic opportunity and has provided grants to 43 mini-grid projects, serving over 7,000 rural Zambians.

Zambia Mission 300 Progress at a Glance

0MillionMillion
Zambians targeted for new electricity connections through Mission 300
0MegawattsMegawatts
new public solar power projects under commission across seven provinces in 2025
0Mini-Grid InitiativeMini-Grid Initiative
ambitious plan to connect 1 million rural Zambians

Lighting the Way

Mission 300 goals are advancing in Zambia: rural households are connecting to new energy sources, developers are investing confidently, and urgency is advancing outcomes for people who need it most.

The road ahead is steep — universal access by 2030 will require sustained speed and scale. New funding, updated policies, and public- and private-sector projects make the destination appear within reach.