Speaking at the Abu Dhabi-hosted International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Assembly on January 12, Director-General Francesco La Camera spotlighted the expanding inequalities in global renewable energy investments amid the sector's rapid development in recent years. While Asia, Europe, and North America dominate with 85% of installed green energy capacity, La Camera reminded that Africa lags far behind, accounting for just 1.6% of the market's growth despite the continent's vast potential.
Experts at the summit cautioned that this missed opportunity to harness Africa's energy resources presents a major obstacle to the continent's long-term sustainable development.
Ditte Juul Joergensen, Director General for Energy at the European Commission, decried that "hundreds of millions of people still lack access to electricity" in Africa, while UN Special Advisor Selwin Hart reminded how energy transition investments are overwhelming flowing to advanced economies, leaving emerging nations burdened by high capital costs and systemic barriers.
With UN Secretary-General António Guterres urging governments to prioritise clean energy in 2025, Madagascar, under the leadership of President Andry Rajoelina, is among the African countries answering the call, emerging as an innovative renewable energy force dedicated to attracting foreign investment and unlocking its sustainable growth potential.
Madagascar's Uphill Energy Battle
Reflecting the broader continental picture, Madagascar's energy landscape reveals a stark urban-rural divide, making equitable, reliable electricity access across the nation a top priority for Rajoelina's government.
As Solo Rajaonson, the Ministry of Energy and Hydrocarbons' communications director, recently highlighted, only 35% of the population has electricity access—well below the Sub-Saharan average of roughly 48%—leaving nearly 20 million people in the dark. Concerningly, this electrification figure drops to a mere 15% in Madagascar's rural areas, with the country's urban centres, such as its capital city, Antananarivo, faring markedly better at 70%—albeit often unreliable—coverage.
Madagascar's energy deficit deeply hinders its socioeconomic development ambitions. Frequent blackouts in hospitals and clinics jeopardise patient care, while high energy costs stifle economic growth for households and businesses. What's more, rural schools often lack power, leaving classrooms without lighting or computers, with women and girls facing added hardships, spending hours collecting firewood for cooking, which limits their access to education and economic opportunities.
Incidentally, biomass, such as firewood, accounts for 80% of Madagascar's energy consumption, leaving the country reliant on fossil fuel imports for the remainder of its energy needs. In 2022, for example, the country spent over €600 million on refined petroleum imports—primarily from Oman and the UAE. Beyond its environmental toll, the country's dependence on costly hydrocarbon imports leaves its economy vulnerable to global price shocks and painful inflation hikes, underscoring the urgency of expanding domestic renewable energy solutions.
Rajoelina Administration's Clean Energy Revolution
In the face of these challenges, President Andry Rajoelina has spearheaded the Madagascan Government's renewable energy pivot, with the administration aiming to capitalise on the country's vast natural resource wealth to ramp up inclusive electricity access and transition towards energy self-sufficiency—two vital pillars for the country's long-term economic development. Indeed, with over 2800 hours of annual sunshine, high wind speeds, and massive hydropower potential, Madagascar represents one of Africa's most promising sources of renewable energy generation.
Adopting a proactive, hands-on approach, President Andry Rajoelina declared his full commitment to tackling Madagascar's "national emergency" during an October 18 meeting with World Bank representatives, following this declaration with a package of measures to fast-track clean energy-related initiatives across the country to match the urgency of the crisis. Rajoelina's discussions with the World Bank focused on the LEAD and DECIM projects, two programmes aimed at expanding the grid and providing electricity to the country's underserved rural areas.
A centerpiece of the Government's plans, which aim to triple energy capacity and achieve 70% electrification in rural communities over the coming years with its clean energy resources, is the distribution of 1.2 million solar kits to help households move away from kerosene dependence. This initiative notably places Madagascar at the vanguard of Africa's unfolding clean energy revolution—the International Energy Agency (IEA) has identified home solar-based systems as a core driver of the continent's recent clean energy uptick, with solar kits accounting for over one-third of new electrical connections.
Driving Up Foreign Investment
Complementing the immediate solutions embodied by the country's accelerating solar kits deployment, the Rajoelina administration is equally striking the cross-sector investment partnerships needed to accelerate progress towards the UN's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of universal electricity access by 2030. Moving forward, significant private sector involvement will be essential in delivering on the Government's ambitious energy projects.
Chief among these are the Sahofika and Volobe hydroelectric plants, which will deliver a combined 312 megawatts (MW) of capacity to millions of users. A public-private partnership (PPP) between the Madagascan Government and a consortium of global energy firms, Sahofika, is nearing completion, with Antananarivo's €30 million investment complemented by EU and African Development Bank (ADB) funding. Meanwhile, investors expect Volobe to achieve "a dramatic cut in the power production costs for the country" and nearly €100 million in annual savings for the Government's financial crisis-hit utilities company, Jirama.
Crucially, the Rajoelina administration could reinvest these to deploy its wider suite of clean energy initiatives, from hybridising existing facilities to deploying 50 solar parks to diversify the national energy mix. Additional major projects include a photovoltaic panel factory supported by China's SANY Group and endorsed by President Rajoelina, as well as a solar power plant launched in April to support medicinal and aromatic plants producer Phael Flor Export. Environment Minister Max Andonirina Fontaine has notably hailed the latter initiative as a "major milestone for Madagascar," reminding how the country's clean energy drive will offer a key sustainable growth foundation for local businesses.
Building a Brighter Future
As the recent IRENA conference showcased, enhanced global investment is urgently needed to unlock Africa's renewable potential and address its considerable energy challenges. In this undertaking, forward-thinking nations like Madagascar are stepping up, demonstrating how targeted initiatives can expand clean electricity access and cultivate a conducive regulatory environment for global investment.
By combining innovative solutions such as solar kits with private and international development investment partnerships, the Madagascan Government is addressing domestic energy poverty while setting a blueprint for Africa's transition from fossil fuel dependency to a future-fit energy model fit capable of improving its citizens' quality of life and underpinning the country's inclusive, sustainable growth.
