More than 1,000 stakeholders in the energy sector will on Friday, May 16, 2025 converge virtually to deliberate on practical ways to bridge the access to energy gap on the continent.
Dubbed, “Africa Sustainable Energy Dialogue (ASED)”, the stakeholders including global and national policymakers, energy sector leaders, development partners, industry experts, academicians, and innovators.
They are expected to draw a roadmap with strategies and innovative energy solutions to address this critical issue.
Organised by the Africa Sustainable Energy Centre (ASEC), a leading think tank pioneering sustainable energy solutions across the continent, the dialogue will be held on the theme, “Bridging Africa’s energy access gap – Challenges, innovations and the path forward”.
A statement jointly signed by the Executive Director of ASEC, Justice Ohene-Akoto, and the Head of Public Relations, Seraphine A. Dogbey, to announced the high level forum stated that the dialogue would aim at charting a forward-looking agenda that aligns with Africa’s sustainable development goals and energy transition ambitions
Context
Home to one-sixth of the global population, the continent has over 600 million people still lacking access to reliable electricity, according to a 2025 evaluation of the World Bank Group’s Support to Electricity Access in Sub-Saharan Africa covering 2015 to 2024.
The World Bank has announced a renewed commitment to connecting 250 million Africans out of about 600 million Africans who currently do not have access to electricity to affordable energy by 2030.
In addition tot his, the African Development Bank's (AfDB) has also pledged to connect additional 50 million Africans to electricity.
In Ghana, access to electricity is markedly higher in urban areas, with about 91 per cent of urban residents connected to the grid, compared to only 50 per cent of rural residents.
Highlight
The statement said the event would provide a platform to explore innovative solutions, highlight practical policy strategies, and forge stronger public-private sector collaborations.
Experts such as the Secretary-General, African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO), Dr Omar Farouk Ibrahim (Nigeria); Board Chairman, United Bank for Africa-Ghana and former Executive Vice President of Tullow Oil PLC, Kweku Awotwi (Ghana); Former Special Adviser to the President on Energy and ex-Director-General, Energy Commission of Nigeria, Professor Emeritus Abubakar Sani Sambo (Nigeria) among others are expected to speak at the event.