Regulatory reforms will help attract private sector investment in Africa’s energy market

A timely regulatory overhaul of Africa’s fledgling electricity sector will attract private sector investment and ensure energy security on the continent, stakeholders meeting at an electricity dialogue, have agreed.
More than 600 million Africans have no access to electricity and Africa generates only 4% of the global energy. Despite vast opportunities in the development of the electricity sector in Africa, there is low private sector investment in energy infrastructure and service delivery, participants at the recent High-Level Public-Private Dialogue on Private Sector Investment in Electricity and Infrastructure Development in Africa, heard.
The two-day dialogue, hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the RES4Africa Foundation brought together stakeholders from the public and private sectors, including policymakers, international organizations, and decision-makers working in energy and infrastructure. They discussed the changes needed in policy and regulatory frameworks to ensure adequate openness, attractiveness, and readiness of African markets to private investments.