Chief Executive Officer of Sahara Group, Kola Adesina, has joined the Mission 300 Private Sector Council, a high-level initiative convened by the World Bank Group, the African Development Bank and The Rockefeller Foundation to expand electricity access to 300 million Africans by 2030.
The council brings together senior business leaders to mobilise investment and shape policy direction around Africa’s electrification drive. Adesina’s appointment underscores the growing role of private capital in addressing limited access to reliable power, which continues to stifle industrialisation, weaken productivity, and slow digital innovation across the continent.
“Closing Africa’s electricity gap will require strategic collaboration and sustained private investment,” Adesina said. “Mission 300 provides a credible platform for aligning policy ambition with bankable projects, and Sahara Power Group is proud to contribute its experience in developing, operating, and financing power assets that deliver reliable electricity and economic value.”
The inclusion of Sahara Power Group reflects its long-standing role in strengthening Africa’s power ecosystem through investments across generation, distribution, renewable and off-grid energy solutions, and data-enabled infrastructure. Through its subsidiary, Sahara Power Group, the firm has been involved in electricity generation and distribution projects designed to support industrial activity and broader economic transformation.
In a statement following his appointment, Adesina described his inclusion in the council as an opportunity to advance collaborative solutions to Africa’s energy challenges. He noted that delivering electricity at scale would depend on “coordinated partnerships, sustained private investment, and a strong pipeline of bankable projects” capable of translating policy ambition into tangible outcomes.
“I am honoured to join the Mission 300 Private Sector Council, a high-level platform convened by the World Bank Group, the African Development Bank, and The Rockefeller Foundation, with a shared ambition: to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030,” Adesina said.
Announcing the launch of the council, Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation, Makhtar Diop, said: “Mission 300’s success depends on mobilizing private investment at scale and implementing strategies shaped by businesses with experience in Africa’s energy sector. This council brings exactly that, senior leaders with the networks and expertise to translate ambition into impact.”
Roughly half of the continent’s population still lacks dependable electricity. Adesina noted that Sahara Power Group’s participation aligns with its broader strategy of enabling power systems that support industrial growth, economic transformation, and inclusive development across Africa.
“Africa’s energy future will be shaped by collaboration, conviction,” he said.
