Mission 300: EIB Pledges Over €1bn to Renewable Energy Projects

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has pledged more than €1 billion to support renewable energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, advancing the Mission 300 initiative to connect 300 million people to electricity by 2030. EIB Group President Nadia Calviño announced the pledge at the EIB Group Forum in Luxembourg.

In a press statement seen by AEP, financing will be delivered through EIB Global, the bank’s development finance and international partnerships arm, and will fund hydropower plants, solar and wind farms, and energy networks, in line with the EU’s Global Gateway strategy.

This Sub-Saharan Africa-focused pledge is part of a broader €2 billion investment plan for renewable energy across the continent over the next two years. President Calviño met with leaders from the World Bank Group and African Development Bank Group, who co-launched Mission 300, alongside representatives from the European Commission.

“Europe is committed to providing cleaner, more affordable, and reliable energy for hundreds of millions of people in Africa,” said Calviño. “Nearly 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa still lack electricity. When some are building walls, we build bridges.”

European Commissioner Jozef Síkela described Mission 300 as a platform turning partnerships into tangible opportunities while the European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, and responsible for relations with the EIB Group, Valdis Dombrovskis, said supporting renewable energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa not only brings the EU and Africa closer together, but also creates economic advantages and social benefits, while offering reliable and secure electricity to hundreds of millions.

The World Bank President Ajay Banga harped the importance of execution to turn pledges into connections on the ground.

He said, ''Mission 300 was designed as a platform - one that brings development banks, governments, philanthropy, and private capital together around a single objective: connections at scale. The EIB’s €1 billion pledge expands that coalition at a critical time. The momentum is real. What matters now is execution - and today’s commitment helps accelerate tangible progress on the ground.”

Similarly, the African Development Bank President Dr Sidi Ould Tah added that the commitment strengthens collaborative efforts toward achieving electrification at scale.

He said, ''EIB’s €1 billion pledge is precisely the partnership that Mission 300 needs and strengthens our platform at a pivotal moment. The African Development Bank Group is proud to stand alongside the European Investment Bank and our partners to turn this ambition into connections on the ground. When institutions of our scale move together with purpose, we create irreversible momentum. This announcement brings us measurably closer to the 300 million people who deserve the dignity and opportunity that electricity provides,”

EIB Global has already invested €3.1 billion in Africa in 2025 across sectors including sustainable energy, transport, water, health, and support for SMEs. Over the past four years, these investments have mobilised €73 billion across the continent, underlining EIB’s pivotal role in Africa’s development and energy transition.