What Africa’s energy dialogue signals about our future

Last month the Africa Sustainable Energy Centre (ASEC) hosted the Africa Sustainable Energy Dialogue (ASED), bringing together participants from across the continent and energy value chain. The urgency was not about whether energy access is important, but about how Africa can shape energy systems that are secure, equitable, and sustainable. 

The speakers representing energy ministries, utilities, finance institutions, academic bodies, and policy think tanks reflected a sweeping range of perspectives. They included H. E. Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, Secretary-General of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO), Prof. Abubakar Sani Sambo, former Director General of Nigeria’s Energy Commission, Dr. Alfred Ofosu Ahenkorah, former Executive Secretary of Ghana’s Energy Commission, Monique Motty of the African Development Bank, Mr. Kweku Awotwi, former of Executive Vice President of Tullow Oil plc and former CEO of Volta River Authority (VRA), Noureddine Hamri, a grid integration expert, Daniel Bungey, Energy & Environmental specialist, and Sabrine Emran, an international energy policy specialist

Leadership is not the problem, it is the solution

The Dialogue dismantled a common misconception: that Africa’s energy challenges stem purely from a lack of capital or technology. What came into focus instead was the critical role of consistent, visionary leadership. Dr. Omar Farouk stated passionately that “Poverty is not responsible for our lack of access to energy. Africa‘s biggest challenge is our lack of visionary leadership”.

Ghana’s progress in electrification was cited not as a miracle, but as the result of community engagement supported by sustained government commitment. The contrast with other regions was striking: where leadership is episodic, energy projects stall; where governance is consistent, progress compounds. 

ASEC’s narrative was clear. Energy security is as much about political continuity as it is about power generation. The systems won’t run if the vision doesn’t last.

The grid is not broken — it’s incomplete

One of the Dialogue’s central insights was the need to shift from piecemeal fixes to system-wide solutions. The current energy landscape, featuring national grids, standalone mini-grids, and isolated solar systems, is highly fragmented. As a result, technical losses, inefficiencies, and poor grid reliability persist across countries.

Speakers with experience at Ghana’s Volta River Authority, the Nigerian Energy Commission, and regional utilities emphasized that true energy security requires harmonized infrastructure. This includes not only building more transmission and distribution lines but also ensuring interoperability between decentralized and central systems.

This is where policy meets engineering: standards, tariffs, and data-sharing protocols must align, else Africa risks building a patchwork system that can’t scale.

Decentralization must be integrated, not isolated

Distributed energy remains a promising pathway, especially for rural electrification and resilience. However, panelists were clear: decentralization is only effective when supported by regulation, finance, and long-term planning.

Many community microgrids and solar programs still operate in regulatory grey zones, unable to scale or integrate with national utilities. The Dialogue emphasized the need for national frameworks that embed decentralization into broader energy planning, rather than treating it as an emergency workaround.

From the perspectives of several speakers the message was consistent: decentralization without coordination becomes disconnection. The way forward, Noureddine Hamri, the Founder of Turn Up the Light, believed “is to have a centralised execution”, warning that “If you have too many players, you will get lost”.

Financing requires confidence

A key highlight of the Dialogue was the presentation by Dr. Omar Farouk on the African Energy Bank—an initiative of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). This institution is dedicated to address the urgent financing needs of Africa’s oil, gas, and broader energy sectors, the AEB is poised to become the continent’s premier vehicle for mobilizing private-sector capital. By providing dedicated funding and tailored financial solutions, the AEB aims to catalyze sustainable energy development and bridge the investment gap in projects that are often underserved by traditional financing institutions.

Innovation must be rooted in African reality

Speakers stressed the need to invest in homegrown energy innovation—not only to increase access, but to fuel broader economic transformation.

African engineers, universities, and entrepreneurs must be empowered to develop solutions tailored to local grid limitations, demand patterns, and affordability constraints. Solar microgrids designed in Europe often struggle in regions where population density, logistics, and informal energy markets require different operating models.

By linking procurement policy with local manufacturing and R&D, energy access becomes not just a development win, but an industrial strategy.

People are not just consumers — they are system actors

The Dialogue reaffirmed that energy transition is not only about infrastructure or institutions—it’s also about people. Today’s energy consumer is evolving into a producer, manager, and grid partner.

With rooftop solar and battery storage becoming more affordable, and electric vehicles emerging as mobile power reserves, the citizen is now part of the system. That means behavior change—demand response, peak shifting, and self-consumption—must be actively encouraged.

Utilities must evolve into service platforms, enabling participation, incentivizing cooperation, and embracing a new model of “energy citizenship.” It’s no longer enough to connect people. The new frontier is to engage them.

Don’t chase reliability at the cost of sustainability

While there was broad consensus on the need to stabilize power access, there were also warnings about overreliance on fossil fuels, particularly natural gas, as a short-term fix.

Panelists from other policy think tanks recognized the temptation of fossil expansion, but warned against locking Africa into carbon-heavy infrastructure. Clean technologies—green hydrogen, geothermal, wind, storage—must remain a priority even as short-term pressures mount.

Investment must be filtered through sustainability criteria to avoid locking in assets that won’t align with global carbon reduction pathways by 2040 and beyond.

From talk to transformation

The Africa Sustainable Energy Dialogue stood out not only for its content but for its convergence. With diverse actors from state utilities, banks, ministries, and civil society, it signaled a shift from abstract ambition to coordinated strategy.

Working groups are now forming to deliver on key priorities:

• Operationalizing the African Energy Bank

• Establishing national frameworks for decentralized energy integration

• Linking procurement to local innovation ecosystems

• Embedding citizens into energy governance structures

ASEC, as the convener, now holds the mandate to drive this agenda forward, not just as an advocate, but as a systems architect.

A dialogue that spoke with, not at, Africa

This wasn’t just another summit. It was a continental inflection point—a turning of the page toward African-led, African-built, and African-owned energy systems.

The future won’t be decided in foreign boardrooms or donor pledges. It will be decided by how ministries, utilities, innovators, and citizens work together to build trust, scale what works, and deliver power with purpose.

Africa’s energy future is no longer hypothetical. It is in motion. And ASEC’s Dialogue proved that the people ready to lead it are already at the table.

ASEC will be hosting an in-person version of the Africa Sustainable Energy Dialogue (ASED) in Accra, Ghana in December 2025.

illuminem is proud to partner with Africa Sustainable Energy Center (ASEC) to amplify the voices leading Africa’s transition to clean, sustainable and affordable energy. illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability & Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.