Zambia has joined a continent-wide push to expand energy access, supporting a $50 billion funding pledge made at the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in Tanzania.
The initiative, which forms part of a broader $90 billion plan to connect 300 million people to electricity by 2030, is a major step toward ending chronic power shortages that continue to hurt small businesses and communities across Africa.
For 30-year-old Enock Gondwe, a metal fabricator working along Alick Nkhata Road in Lusaka’s Kalingalinga area, the stakes are personal.
Gondwe, who dropped out of school and built his business from scratch, now faces the threat of losing everything to power outages.
“My business depends on a constant power supply, and it’s sad that power comes on at 5 am for just two hours before it goes out again. I rely on this work to support my family,” he said, holding up his welding machine as he rushed to complete a job before the next blackout.
Just a few kilometers away, 40-year-old Charles Sakala has already shut down his barbershop in Mtendere township.
His electric clippers are useless without a steady current.
Even when the power returns, it’s often late at night, when no customers are around.
Like Gondwe, Sakala’s livelihood has become a casualty of Zambia’s deepening energy crisis.
The country’s overreliance on hydroelectricity, which accounted for 82% of power generation in 2024, according to the Ministry of Energy, is proving increasingly unreliable.
Prolonged droughts have dried up water levels in the Zambezi and Kafue rivers, slashing electricity output and sparking long, unpredictable blackouts.
Zambia is now turning to international partnerships to secure a more resilient energy future.
During the summit in Tanzania, President Hakainde Hichilema held bilateral meetings with private sector leaders and development institutions to discuss investment in energy infrastructure.
“In our quest to woo more energy investment and grow our economy in general, we held bilateral meetings with various private sector global entities,” Hichilema said.
He underlined that energy is vital for economic development and emphasized the continent’s united commitment to expanding renewable energy access.
Hichilema also noted that roughly 685 million people across Africa still lack reliable access to electricity.
At the summit, Zambia joined 11 other countries, including Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Nigeria, and Tanzania, in presenting detailed national energy access plans.
These strategies prioritize grid expansion, affordable renewable generation, clean cooking solutions, and the use of satellite mapping to pinpoint underserved communities.
Each plan includes time-bound targets, data-backed policies, and commitments from top political leaders to drive implementation and transparency.
Support for the Mission 300 initiative came from major financial backers such as the African Development Bank, the World Bank, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
But it wasn’t just a government and banking affair, private companies and philanthropic groups are also pledging support, offering a more diversified and agile approach to Africa’s energy challenges.
For Zambians like Gondwe and Sakala, these efforts could spell a long-overdue shift.
Access to reliable electricity could mean stable income, thriving businesses, and a more predictable future.
As Gondwe continues welding against the clock, there’s renewed hope that power will no longer be a luxury, but a given.
