Johannesburg, South Africa, 8th December, 2025 – A year-long campaign to mobilize investment in renewable energy across Africa has concluded with pledges totaling €15.5 billion, marking a major step toward expanding electricity access and accelerating the continent’s clean-energy transition.
The initiative was spearheaded by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, in collaboration with Global Citizen and with policy support from the International Energy Agency. The campaign aimed to drive both public and private investment into renewable energy, strengthen Africa’s electricity networks, and support sustainable economic growth through decarbonized industrialization.
The European Union led the pledging effort, contributing more than €15.1 billion. This included a commitment of over €10 billion announced by President von der Leyen on behalf of Team Europe, alongside significant bilateral contributions from European financial institutions, Member States, and their development finance arms.
“Today, the world has stepped up for Africa,” President von der Leyen declared.
“With €15.5 billion, we are turbocharging Africa’s clean-energy transition. Millions more people could gain access to electricity, real, life-changing power for families, for businesses, for entire communities. This investment is a surge of opportunity: thriving markets, new jobs, and reliable, clean energy that meets the needs of partners across the globe. President Ramaphosa and I both look forward to a clean-energy future for the continent. A future led by Africa, with strong support from its friend and partner, Europe.”
The Team Europe package includes new Global Gateway projects co-financed by Germany, France, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain, as well as major contributions from the European Investment Bank (€2.1 billion) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (€740 million). Additional bilateral pledges came from Italy (€2.4 billion), Germany (over €2 billion), the Netherlands including FMO (€250 million), Portugal (€113 million), Denmark (€81 million), Sweden (€44 million), Austria (€5 million), and Ireland (€5 million). The EBRD also announced a separate bilateral investment of over €600 million.
Beyond Europe, the African Development Bank pledged to allocate at least 20% of the African Development Fund’s 17th replenishment to renewable energy, while Norway committed approximately €53 million through its contribution to the Fund between 2026 and 2028.
According to campaign organizers, the commitments will generate 26.8 GW of renewable energy capacity and deliver electricity to 17.5 million households currently living without reliable access.
Of the €10 billion pledged by President von der Leyen, €3.1 billion had been announced earlier at key international summits throughout 2025, while the remaining €7 billion was unveiled at the final pledging event in Johannesburg.
The campaign represents one of the largest collective efforts to date to accelerate Africa’s transition away from fossil fuels, positioning the continent at the forefront of global clean-energy growth.
