Actionable systems integration for energy-enabled sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa

2026-07-22

Current approaches to increasing energy access in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are not working. In 2022, 570 million people had no electricity access in SSA, 130 million more than in 1990 and 10 million more than in 2021. Energy poverty hinders much-needed progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Many international donors, including the EU, are funding large energy access initiatives in SSA, but recent impact studies show that they often fail prematurely and create little wider SDG impact. IntegrateEnergy proposes a paradigm shift towards integrated solutions that prioritise useful energy services such as irrigation, neonatal incubation or cold chains over mere electricity connections. Finding feasible options for systems integration captures key synergies for energy-enabled sustainable development (EESD). It requires to overcome four design failures of existing energy access initiatives: Conceptually, the initiatives view energy access as an end in itself. IntegrateEnergy displaces siloes with actionable systems integration. Strategically, the initiatives are guided by least-cost electrification rather than the needs of local people. IntegrateEnergy captures local visions of development and translates them into efficient, feasible strategic plans for EESD. Institutionally, the initiatives are highly fragmented. IntegrateEnergy examines feasible options for policy and institutional integration to govern EESD effectively. Operationally, current delivery models are limited to providing energy connections. IntegrateEnergy finds feasible modes of operation which reconceptualise value creation towards EESD. ∫Energy addresses the design failures, and their underlying theoretical gaps, through a ground-breaking, interdisciplinary mix of modelling, socio-technical analysis, initiative-based learning and co-production approaches. Combining them allows to produce robust forward-looking, historically-informed and experience-based pathways for EESD in SSA.

Germany

2026-03-01