AEBF 2025: Advancing Africa’s energy sector through TYIIP and EU’s private sector mobilisation

The Africa Ten-Year (Energy) Infrastructure Investment Plan (TYIIP) for  Cross-Border Connectivity, a legacy document from the G20 South African presidency, highlights priority energy projects for the continent, in alignment with continental initiatives such as the Continental Power Systems Master Plan (CMP), the African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM), and Mission 300. Streamlining, supporting and amplifying private sector involvement in transformative projects will be critical to achieve these initiatives.

The Africa EU Energy Partnership (AEEP), in collaboration with AUDA NEPAD, hosted a discussion on Advancing Africa’s energy sector through TYIIP and EU’s private sector mobilisation during the AU-EU Business Forum in Luanda, Angola on 25 November 2025.

Mr Tichakunda Simbini, Principal Programme Officer-Energy, African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) presented the Ten-Year Infrastructure Investment Plan, highlighting the rationale behind the plan, which was to align it firmly with the ongoing initiatives and plans instead of creating something new.

In the discussion, moderated by Ms Towela Nyirenda Jere, Head of Secretariat, AEEP, examples of projects where the European private sector has been mobilised were presented. One of them being a Global Gateway project for rural electrification in Angola, where Angolan government approached MCA to find a renewable solution for 60 villages covering 200 000 households and one million people. The EU’s Global Gateway strategy aims to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport sectors. Since 2021, Team Europe has mobilised over €306 billion of investments that support sustainable and high-quality projects, under which the EU-Africa Global Gateway Investment Package supports Africa with €150 billion worth of investments.

In Angola, MCA, a European based private company, is implementing the project, worth one billion euro, showcasing how the private sector can collaborate with the public to find both financially and locally beneficial and profitable solutions. Mr Rodrigo Rendeiro Costeira, Consultant, MCA, explained how MCA has worked with technical partners in Europe to find the right solutions and the financing demonstrating how the private sector can bring delivery and execution capacity, and performance-based approaches when the public sector has played its critical role of defining the overall strategy, policies, pipelines and investment programmes..

Mr Ad Dankers, Renewable Energy Project Finance Advisor, GET.invest, added that it is key to involve private sector as early as possible in the project preparation phase. Only by doing so and by all parties working together in structuring projects will successful financing solutions be incorporated into the design of the entire project.

Ms Marie-Hélène Loison, Regional Director for Southern Africa, AFD, further elaborated on the need for alignment, both between African and Europe but also within the continents. “We see a role in reconciling European interests with African priorities” said Loison. For French companies for example to be able to find the right investment targets it is important that there are clear priorities on the African side, and, according to Loison, TYIIP is a good example of this. Furthermore, the recommendation from the panellists was clearer coordination and more information of EU financing instruments to make the system clearer both for African public stakeholders as well as the European private sector.