This month’s Horizons examines one of the most urgent questions shaping global development: how can Africa leverage its extraordinary resource wealth to end energy poverty and unlock sustained economic growth?
Despite vast renewable potential, world-class oil and gas resources and a dominant role in critical minerals, 600 million Africans still lack access to electricity. The challenge is not scarcity - it’s converting Africa’s rich endowment into reliable, affordable energy for its people. Wood Mackenzie’s latest analysis outlines how bold policy, targeted investment and global partnership could transform the continent’s energy future.
Our Horizons Live session brings together our experts to discuss what it will take for Africa to power its development while contributing to the global energy transition.
Key themes include:
- Energy endowment vs. energy access: why a continent with vast solar, wind, hydro, oil, gas and minerals remains energy poor — and what’s needed to change course.
- Clean energy acceleration: How bottom-up solar-and-storage solutions, mini-grids and innovative financing can rapidly expand electricity access.
- Hydrocarbon opportunity: Why Africa’s undeveloped oil and gas resources still matter and how governance, fiscal reform and new investment models could unlock production.
- Critical minerals advantage: How Africa’s cobalt, copper, manganese, lithium and rare earths can be leveraged not only for export, but to secure investment in domestic clean energy.
- Upstream emissions in context: What the data reveals about Africa’s relatively low emissions footprint and how low-carbon development pathways can still advance upstream growth.
- Geopolitics and capital access: How shifting global priorities, from US policy to Chinese investment, could reshape Africa’s options for financing energy development.
Join us live as our expert panel explores how Africa can turn resource abundance into energy prosperity and what the world must do to support a just and accelerated transition.
Our panel:
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Mansur Mohammed, Principal Analyst & Author, Horizons: Asset rich, energy poor
- Gavin Thompson, Vice Chairman, Energy - Europe, Middle East & Africa
Register now to join the conversation and bring your questions to our experts.