Mission 300: Côte d’Ivoire Moves to Accelerate Energy Compact

Côte d'Ivoire is working to accelerate implementation of its National Energy Compact, with just five of 23 planned actions completed by early 2026, after a two-day workshop in Abidjan brought together government officials and development finance institutions to speed up reforms and financing ahead of 2030 targets.

The workshop, held on September 9 and 10, formed part of the continent-wide Mission 300 initiative, led jointly by the African Development Bank and the World Bank, which aims to connect an additional 300 million people across Africa to electricity by 2030. Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) facilitated the session, with support from the African Development Bank's African Energy Sector Technical Assistance Programme.

Côte d'Ivoire unveiled its National Energy Compact in January 2025, setting four targets for 2030: universal access to electricity, a 50% clean cooking access rate, a 45% share of renewables in the energy mix, and the mobilisation of an additional $2 billion in private investment. Of the Compact's 23 planned actions, five had been completed by early 2026, 12 were under way, and six were behind schedule, with priority areas including regulation of mini-grids and self-generation, tariff adjustments, the sector's financial sustainability, bioenergy, clean cooking and regional integration.

Country has made steady progress toward its targets

Côte d'Ivoire has already recorded measurable gains. In 2025, 684,735 new electricity connections gave around 3.56 million more people access to power. Clean cooking access reached about 41%, while renewable energy made up 34% of the country's energy mix. The Compact estimates total investment needs of $15.02 billion through 2030, of which about $6.56 billion still needs to be mobilised.

Wale Shonibare, director of financial solutions, energy policy and regulation at the African Development Bank, said Côte d'Ivoire is starting from a strong position, noting that the country has one of the most developed electricity systems in West Africa, a longstanding model of private-sector participation in generation, and an established role in regional electricity trade.

According to Shonibare, the remaining challenge is less about setting targets than about the pace of implementation needed to meet them by 2030, and closer coordination between the Ivorian government, the African Development Bank, the World Bank and other partners will be essential to unlock financing and advance priority projects.

Souleymane Soro, Deputy chief of staff to Côte d'Ivoire's Minister for Mines, Oil and Energy, said the government is committed to driving sector reforms, bringing projects to maturity and coordinating with the bodies responsible for implementation. "We will ensure that the identified priorities are translated into coherent, monitored and measurable actions," Soro said.

Workshop identified priority projects across the sector

Using the Compact Implementation Support Document as an operational roadmap, workshop participants identified priority actions spanning reforms, project development, financing, monitoring and risk management, with discussions focused on improving the readiness and financial viability of projects in solar, hydropower, biomass, transmission and distribution, regional interconnections, storage and electricity access.

Marcelin Cissé, director-general of the Planning Ministry, representing the Minister for Planning and Development, said Côte d'Ivoire has put high-level institutional oversight arrangements in place to guide the roadmap's implementation. The African Development Bank is supporting the country through investment financing, technical assistance, project preparation and partner mobilisation, including through the Programme for the Strengthening of Transport and Distribution Networks and, in partnership with the Islamic Development Bank, the second phase of the Project to Strengthen the Electricity System Infrastructure and Improve Access to Electricity.