Despite having some of the world’s best solar resources, most of Africa remains in the dark. Innovative off-grid solutions are stepping in where national grids fall short.
On the outskirts of Atlantis, roughly 40 kilometres from Cape Town, workers fit rows of solar panels onto metal frames. The scene marks a quiet revolution: South Africa’s first municipally owned solar power plant. It’s a glimpse of what could be possible across the continent — if Africa fully harnessed its virtually unlimited solar potential.
More than 660 million people around the world still live without access to electricity. Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounts for around 85% of this figure. For millions of households, darkness after sunset isn’t just inconvenient — it shapes every aspect of daily life, from education and health to economic opportunity.
A Childhood Shaped by Darkness
For Washikala Malango, growing up in Baraka, a village along the vast shores of Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of Congo, living off the grid was simply normal. Around 78% of the DRC’s population still has no access to electricity, according to the World Bank.
Malango remembers mornings spent at school, afternoons playing football, and evenings huddled with his family around a single kerosene lamp in the kitchen while his mother prepared dinner. Reading at night was out of the question. “We wouldn’t even buy enough kerosene to make light last until 9 or 10 p.m.,” he recalls. One night, when a candle was accidentally left burning, his cotton-filled mattress caught fire, filling the room with choking smoke and narrowly avoiding tragedy.
In the mid-1990s, as civil war tore through the country, Malango and his childhood friend Iongwa Mashangao fled Baraka and ended up in a refugee camp in Tanzania. The camp had no electricity either. “Relying on dirty and expensive sources of energy for lighting, for powering appliances, for learning — this had a very negative impact on our household’s income, on our health,” he says.
Those experiences planted the seed for what would become Altech, a solar startup launched in 2013. The company provides simple, affordable solar home kits designed to bring reliable electricity to off-grid communities. “We really wanted to contribute to the eradication of energy poverty in the DRC, given what we experienced growing up,” Malango explains.
Unlimited Solar, Limited Investment
Africa receives more sunshine hours than any other continent. Its solar irradiance — the power of the sun per square metre — ranks among the highest in the world. The African Development Bank has described the continent’s solar potential as “almost unlimited.”
Despite this, the continent had only 21.5 gigawatts of installed solar capacity by 2024, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). To put that into perspective, China added 198 GW between January and May of the same year alone.
The issue isn’t a lack of sunshine — it’s structural, financial and political. Many African countries have scattered, low-density populations that make it costly to extend national grids beyond major cities. Infrastructure bottlenecks, regulatory uncertainty, weak policy environments and, in some regions, ongoing conflict all combine to slow the rollout of renewable power. For large-scale solar farms, the high upfront investment adds another layer of difficulty.
Initiatives such as Mission 300, which has brought electricity to 30 million people across 29 countries through policy commitments and grid expansion efforts, offer some hope. Another flagship programme, the African Development Bank’s Desert-to-Power Initiative, launched in 2018, aims to build 10 gigawatts of solar capacity across 11 Sahelian countries by 2030, potentially benefiting 250 million people. Yet progress has been slow. Civil unrest — including five coups in three years — has delayed financing and construction in several participating nations.
Over the past two decades, Africa has received just 2% of global renewable energy investment, despite holding some of the most abundant renewable resources on Earth. The IEA estimates that achieving universal electricity access across the continent by 2030 would require $25 billion per year — a figure that remains out of reach under current investment trends.
Off-Grid Power: A Bridge to the Future
As national grids struggle to keep up, distributed solar is emerging as a practical alternative. According to the IEA, off-grid and small-scale solar systems are expected to account for 42% of Africa’s solar PV expansion in the next five years.
Home solar kits and mini-grids can act as a bridge for communities waiting for grid access. Falling technology costs make solar cheaper than diesel generators in many areas. However, the initial purchase price is still a barrier. Only around 22% of households without electricity can afford even a basic “tier 1” solar kit — which provides about four hours of power a day — without financial support. This is why government policies, microfinancing and venture capital play critical roles in driving adoption.
Investors also face uncertainty. If the national grid eventually reaches a community, it can undermine the long-term profitability of off-grid projects. Clear, transparent energy planning is essential to reduce these risks and encourage external investment.
In places like the DRC, companies like Altech are showing what’s possible. Recognising that even a small upfront payment of $13 for a solar lamp was out of reach for many families, the company introduced mobile pay-as-you-go systems in 2022. Customers can now pay around 50 cents a day over 100 days for entry-level kits, or commit to larger systems with extended payment plans over two to five years.
The most popular package includes two 50-watt solar panels — enough to power a television, radio, soundbar, fan, phone charger and two light bulbs — for roughly 50 cents a day paid over three years. Without these systems, households would spend hundreds of dollars annually on kerosene for lighting and cooking. The shift to solar doesn’t just save money; it improves quality of life. Children can study at night. Families reduce their exposure to harmful indoor air pollutants. Accidental fires become less common.
Even simple activities like charging a mobile phone become cheaper and safer. In the past, people had to travel to generator-powered charging stations, paying between $1 and $3 per charge — and risk losing their phones to theft. Now, they can charge at home. Altech has already reached more than 2.5 million people across the DRC.
A Growing Movement
Altech is not alone. Across the continent, a growing number of enterprises are stepping into the gaps left by national grids. Kenyan company M-Kopa, a pioneer in pay-as-you-go solar since 2011, has expanded its model to include digital finance, smartphones and e-mobility. West African company Izili (formerly Baobab+) has raised over $21 million to deliver solar kits and clean cooking stoves to millions in Nigeria, Senegal, Madagascar and Ivory Coast. In South Africa, LightBox Africa is offering micro-financed solar solutions repayable over three years.
In the DRC, startup Nuru — meaning “light” in Swahili — focuses on solar mini-grids for remote communities. In 2023, it secured $40 million to build what is set to become the largest mini-grid in sub-Saharan Africa.
According to IEA data, around a quarter of all new electricity connections in sub-Saharan Africa between 2020 and 2022 were provided by off-grid solar systems. For a continent where 70% of the population is under the age of 30, these solutions are more than just a stopgap — they are the foundation for the next generation’s opportunities.
“It’s a vicious cycle,” says IEA analyst Bruno Idini. “You don’t have power because you can’t pay for it, and you can’t pay for it because you don’t have power. That’s where solar home systems and mini-grids can play a very big role.”
Lighting the Path Forward
Africa’s solar story is one of immense potential, persistent barriers, and inspiring innovation. The sun is free and abundant; the challenge lies in unlocking the investment, governance and infrastructure needed to harness it at scale.
Off-grid solutions may not replace national grids, but they are proving to be powerful tools in the fight against energy poverty. For millions of families, they are not just about electricity — they’re about education, health, safety and opportunity.
The continent has the resources. It has the innovators. What it needs now is the political will and financial commitment to turn unlimited sunlight into shared power.