Building public-private partnerships to accelerate access to clean cooking technologies in informal settlements in Africa

Globally, the number of people without access to electricity and access to clean cooking fuels and technologies is reducing; yet, the case is different in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where the number of people without access is rather increasing. Three out of four people (569 million people) without access to electricity are from SSA. Further, 923 million people in SSA do not have access to clean cooking, with 19 of the 20 countries with the lowest percentages of the population having access to clean cooking globally being from SSA. This poor access to sustainable energy has led to a myriad of health, environmental, social and economic detrimental impacts. As per the Tracking SDG 7 Energy Progress Report, 2022, if universal access to clean cooking is not achieved, the cost of inaction, driven by negative externalities on health, gender and climate, is estimated at USD 2.4 trillion a year.

The urban population in Africa is expected to triple to 1.5 billion between 2015 and 2050. Africa, particularly SSA, is however urbanising at lower GDP per capita levels compared to other world regions with up to 60% of urban dwellers in Africa living in informal settlements. Access to affordable, clean energy is amongst the many challenges faced by these increasing African informal settlements.