Empowering Africa's green energy transition

The push towards a just Energy transition continues to be rocked with a myriad of challenges from funding to geo-political interests. CNBC Africa was joined by Jillian Henderson, Innovation Lead at Energy Catalyst Programme, Innovate UK, to delve into the conversation around empowering Africa's green energy transition. Henderson highlighted the significance of having diverse capital sources in empowering Africa's energy transition, citing grant funding as a vital tool to bring innovation to market, especially at an early stage. Programmes like the Energy Catalyst provide grant funding to companies to pilot and scale their innovations to enhance energy access. Challenges in the clean energy sector include access to finance, policy obstacles, and development risks. Henderson emphasized the importance of equitable partnerships and providing financial support through grant funding and accelerator support to prepare companies for investment. The Energy Catalyst programme has funded 119 million pounds' worth of energy access projects across 38 countries, with additional funding announced at COP28. Henderson discussed key drivers of investment opportunities, citing global alignment of climate and energy security goals as crucial factors propelling the clean energy sector forward. Solar energy, energy storage, and smart green mini-grids were identified as major areas of innovation in Africa, leveraging the region's abundant sunshine. While progress is being made, challenges such as access to finance and changing political landscapes remain. Henderson emphasized the need for more investment in the clean energy sector to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable energy for all by 2030. Positive steps, including commitments to triple renewable energy generation capacity and initiatives to tackle climate change impacts, are being taken globally. However, more concerted efforts and investments are needed to drive the just energy transition and address the energy access gaps that persist in many parts of the world.