The top 10 investors, led by the African Development Bank ($1.77B), World Bank ($1.05B), and Standard Bank ($922M) accounted for $7.42 billion across 112 deals according to the Electron Intelligence report.
The top 10 countries captured $9.88 billion, or 73% of total tracked value. Within this concentration, three deal types dominated: project finance ($5.78B), government and sovereign programs ($3.60B), and corporate finance ($3.04B).
What made these deals bankable? First, sovereign-backed programs provided government assurance on the fundamental risks: collections, FX convertibility, and grid access. The African Development Bank’s Nigeria reform package exemplified this model. Government commitment reduced investor risk, enabling capital to flow.
Second, repeatable platform structures reduced delivery risk. Instead of financing one-off projects, investors funded companies and programs designed to execute similar projects at scale. Each project benefited from the playbook developed in the previous one. Permitting timelines shortened. Grid coordination improved. Collections improved. The platform model transformed energy development from a series of unique transactions into a standardized, repeatable process.
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Third, large-ticket electricity transactions with clear offtake agreements and risk allocation attracted capital. Geregu Power’s $750 million deal and the OCP Programme’s $520 million investment succeeded because every material risk—revenue, grid access, fuel supply, operational performance was explicitly allocated and priced. Investors knew what they were buying.
For companies and financiers entering Africa’s energy market, the bankability test is clear. Capital does not chase the largest pipelines or the most ambitious announcements. It chases deals where execution is certain, where risk is transparent and allocated, and where the transaction structure has been proven repeatable.
The most important work is not in developing new technology or identifying new sites. It is in structuring deals that pass the bankability test from day one.
By Thuita Gatero, Managing Editor, Africa Digest News. He specializes in conversations around data centers, AI, cloud infrastructure, and energy.
