Africa must urgently close its electricity gap if it is to industrialize, expand regional value chains and deliver on the promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area, Economic Commission for Africa Executive Secretary Claver Gatete said.
Speaking virtually at the Ministerial Compact Roundtable on Financing Africa’s Nuclear Energy Future, held during the Nuclear Energy Innovation Summit on Africa 2026, Gatete said reliable and affordable power would determine the continent’s economic competitiveness.
“No nation industrializes in the dark,” he said. “Africa cannot realize the promise of the AfCFTA or build competitive regional value chains on intermittent power alone.”
Gatete said Africa’s energy challenge is taking place at a time of overlapping global shocks, including climate extremes, high borrowing costs, tighter finance, and geopolitical instability. These pressures, he noted, are disrupting energy markets, trade routes and public finances, while limiting the ability of many African countries to finance the infrastructure they need.
He said the AfCFTA offers Africa a historic opportunity to deepen intra-African trade, expand productive capacity, strengthen regional value chains and build long-term resilience. But this transformation, he warned, will not happen without electricity at scale.
