The Agency noted that the bulk of this figure, 590 million people, reside in the sub-Saharan region.

World Bank experts estimate that investments of nearly 20 billion dollars a year are needed to achieve universal electrification in sub-Saharan Africa.

They also estimate that nearly 10 billion dollars a year are required to bring electricity and maintain a steady supply to the west and center of the continent.

Andrew Lawrence, an energy specialist at the University of the Witwatersrand Business School in Johannesburg, South Africa, thinks that there are many reasons why Africa has poor power supply.

He mentioned the old infrastructure, lack of government oversight and lack of expertise in maintaining power grids.

Lawrence added that a historic problem is that many colonial regimes built electricity systems largely for the minority white population, which excluded large sectors of the black population.

Analysts agree that more than external aid, Africa needs endogenous development based on the use of its resources to increase access to electricity, since it is one of the richest continents, with abundant oil, water and other essential minerals to undertake a solid energy transition.

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