Future of Energy Conference: Africa cannot industrialise in the dark – ECOWAS Bank President
President of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), Dr George Nana Agyekum Donkor, has warned that Africa’s industrialisation ambitions will remain elusive without adequate, reliable and affordable energy.
ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) President, Dr George Nana Agyekum Donkor, cautioned that Africa's industrialization dreams will remain unfulfilled without dependable, cost-effective energy. He highlighted that Africa has long supplied raw materials like cocoa, gold, and bauxite to the world while importing finished goods at higher prices, which has hindered value addition, job creation, and economic transformation.
"Africa cannot industrialize in the dark," he declared at the Future of Energy Conference 2026 in Accra. Dr Donkor emphasized that industrialization demands deliberate policy-making, enhanced coordination, and significant investment in energy infrastructure. He stressed the necessity of a robust and reliable energy system to fuel industry.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) estimates Africa needs about $25 billion per year to provide electricity to everyone, underscoring the magnitude of investment required to address the continent's energy gap. Dr Donkor reported that EBID, recognizing energy's pivotal role in Africa's industrialization, has committed over $1 billion to the energy sector as of June 2026, with plans to invest a minimum of $2 billion by 2030.
He proposed a four-pronged strategy: improving national and regional grid systems, expanding renewable energy projects, leveraging domestic natural gas resources, and increasing embedded generation capacity within industries. "Africa's industrialization requires a diverse energy mix of reliable electricity, renewable energy, natural gas, regional power pools, and distributed energy solutions," he explained.
The Africa Mineral Development Centre (AMDC) concurred, noting that while Africa is rich in minerals, it needs to develop industries to convert these into higher-value products. Claudine Sigam, the interim director-general of AMDC, argued that Africa must not only focus on exporting minerals but also on developing the energy, industrial capacity, skills, and markets needed to transform these resources into competitive industries.
She stressed that industrialization requires a holistic approach that maximizes value creation across the continent.
Written by urgent.news from MyJoyOnline Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
- UK envoy: Africa must close funding gap to commercialise bioeconomy research capitalfm.africa
- African CSOs must diversify funding, reduce donor dependence – WACSI myjoyonline.com
- Mbeki says African leaders should be legitimately elected sabcnews.com
- Africa must define and build its own future - Veep Opoku-Agyemang tells African leaders 3news.com
