Five African countries presented their investment cases at the recent Africa Energy Marketplace, which brought together governments, the private sector and development partners, to highlight strategic projects and key energy sector reforms. The countries’ pitches also emphasized the scale of renewable resources among their key priorities.

The theme of the fifth African Energy Marketplace, held virtually between 26 and 29 October, was Identifying opportunities across the energy value chain: Resolving bottlenecks and unlocking investments in Cameroon, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, and Tunisia.

Cameroon announced that it had launched an agency to manage the public electricity transmission system, Société National de Transport de l'Electricité, or SONATREL, to support its vision for attracting investment of around $10.6 billion to deliver on its energy targets. “If we are able to develop robust transmission infrastructure, we should be able to achieve universal access to electricity,” said Gaston Eloundou Essomba, the country’s Minister of Water and Energy. The planned national energy mix is 80% hydro, 14% gas, and 6% from solar, wind and biomass.