New partners could put more spark into Africa’s renewable revolution

An energy revolution is unfolding across Africa, driven less by governments than by citizens. Nowhere is it more visible than in South Africa, where homes and businesses are turning rooftops into power stations.

Between mid-2022 and early 2025, solar photovoltaics in South Africa saw explosive growth, with installed capacity increasing from less than 1GW to more than 7GW. Today, this privately owned solar capacity represents an estimated 12%–15% of the country’s total installed generation capacity, though the exact figure is in constant flux.

Decentralised solar, particularly when paired with battery storage systems, has reduced the strain on the national grid and led to fewer of the blackouts that were a defining feature of life for South Africans.

While the rapid development of renewable generation is providing immense support for homes and businesses, thermal power is gaining the attention of investors. This large-scale power supply is vital for the industrial development of African nations, South Africa in particular.

Across Africa, countries imported a record 15GW of solar panels in the 12 months to June — a 60% increase from the year before, according to the energy think tank Ember. Many of the installations are decentralised.

According to the International Energy Agency, household solar systems and microgrids now account for nearly half of all new electricity connections across sub-Saharan Africa — helping tens of millions of people gain access to power in just the past few years.

Nearly 600-million Africans live without electricity. For them, reliable energy is the difference between opportunity — being able to study at night, refrigerate medicine or power a small business — and exclusion

Still, nearly 600-million Africans live without electricity. For them, reliable energy is the difference between opportunity — being able to study at night, refrigerate medicine or power a small business — and exclusion.

Africa has natural resources to meet its energy challenge from within. Roughly 60% of the world’s best solar potential lies on the continent. Yet for the foreseeable future, decentralised solar and batteries alone will not be enough to guarantee reliable, affordable power for all.

Not everyone can afford a solar system, and as more households and businesses go off-grid, those left behind could face higher costs on a public grid with shrinking revenue. Without careful planning, a decentralised revolution could deepen inequality instead of reducing it.

The solution lies in a balanced approach: expanding utility-scale solar and battery storage while, in the short to medium term, using Africa’s existing natural gas reserves and infrastructure to stabilise grids and back up renewable supply. Countries such as Nigeria, Egypt and Mozambique are already pursuing this path.

Seizing the opportunity Africa’s natural resources offer will require partnership and collaboration, both within the continent and beyond. South Africa’s G20 presidency, focused on solidarity, could become an important test of that spirit.

Despite vast potential, Africa has historically attracted less than 2% of global renewable energy investments over the past two decades. Local investors — including Harith General Partners — are helping to fill the gap, financing large-scale infrastructure that delivers financial returns and long-term social value. Harith and its portfolio company Anergi Group respond to the needs of the market. Their power portfolio comprises utility-scale renewable capacity and much-needed gas projects. But domestic resources alone cannot close an estimated $190bn (R3.3-trillion) annual climate and infrastructure investment required to propel the industrial development of African nations.

Initiatives such as the EU’s Global Gateway and the G20 pledging summit in Johannesburg on November 21 — co-hosted by President Cyril Ramaphosa and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen — will offer a platform for new commitments from governments and businesses to co-operate and scale up capital deployment.

A real breakthrough, however, could come from an unexpected source: private wealth, especially from Asia. At the inaugural Impact Week in Singapore this September, we met family offices, sovereign wealth funds, and regional institutional capital managing intergenerational fortunes that are seeking to align their portfolios with long-term well-being. Their question was no longer if they could invest in Africa, but how soon.

With Africa’s energy markets offering some of the world’s highest risk-adjusted infrastructure returns, and with Chinese-manufactured solar panels and batteries driving down costs, the investment opportunity is clear.

South Africa’s rooftop revolution offers a glimpse of what’s possible when citizens and businesses lead. The next step is to match their momentum with the capital and collaboration needed to scale it continent-wide.

Platforms such as Mission 300, which aims to provide energy access to 300-million Africans by 2030, show what’s achievable if every partner — public or private — plays its part.

What the continent needs now are partners who see Africa not as a risk but as an opportunity — one of shared growth and mutual benefit.

Makhubela is CEO of Harith General Partners. Sheldrick is co-founder and chief policy, impact & government relations officer of Global Citizen.