Sahara Group Urges UK-Africa Summit to Focus on Access to Power

A leading energy conglomerate, Sahara Group, has urged participants at the United Kingdom-Africa Investment Summit to explore committing resources towards addressing the energy needs on the continent that is home to about 1.3 billion people.

The summit which holds today in London, will be hosted by the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, while President Muhammadu Buhari is the leader of the African delegation at the event.

The summit would bring together businesses, governments and international institutions to showcase and promote the breadth and quality of investment opportunities in Africa.

Sahara Group said UK and African businesses need to commit more funds to grid electricity development while ramping up investment in renewable energy to bring electricity to over 600 million people, a figure, it said was 10 times the population of the UK.

 

The Executive Director of Sahara Group, Mr. Kola Adesina, in a statement, said access to power in Africa was crucial to ensuring sustainable economic growth and seamless transition to the fourth industrial revolution.

According to him, “Investment in off-grid electricity will light up homes and small businesses in rural and poor communities, mostly in the sub-Saharan Africa. This is an auspicious time for investors in the UK and across the globe to explore this opportunity which promises a win-win situation for all."

Adesina said apart from having the potential to promote access to clean energy, off-grid electricity from renewable energy sources, including solar, wind and hydro, has the potential of becoming more affordable for more Africans in the long run.

He added that “the aspirations of Africa’s youth population, about 400 million people between the ages of 15 and 34, which is about twice Europe entire population, rest on the decisions UK and African investors take at this summit. We can promote the agenda of bringing energy to life through enhanced access to electricity in Africa, and Sahara Group is committed to spearheading this cause through more investment and collaboration."

Adesina stated that Sahara Group, with its profile as one of the largest private power business operators in Africa, was already in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on a project aimed at boosting access to sustainable energy in Africa.

He noted that governments and businesses must work together to develop and implement a plan to transform regulatory and operational issues in the power sector.

“We also need a sustained awareness plan to change the mindset of Africans to navigate from consumption to production; this will require reliable and affordable electricity. Sahara Group remains passionate about electrifying Africa and believes the time for all stakeholders to act is now," he further said.