Sahara Power GMD, Kola Adesina appointed to Mission 300 Private Sector Council

Kola Adesina, the Group Managing Director of Sahara Power Group, has been appointed to the Mission 300 Private Sector Council, a high-level initiative launched by the World Bank Group, the African Development Bank (AfDB), and The Rockefeller Foundation with the aim of accelerating electricity access for 300 million Africans by 2030. 

The council, which consists of only 14 senior leaders from global energy, finance, infrastructure, and technology institutions, is tasked mobilising private investment and scaling up financing to drive economic transformation and job creation in Africa. 

Adesina’s appointment followed the naming of Sahara Power Group, a subsidiary of Sahara Group, a global energy and infrastructure conglomerate, to the council on April 1.

He will sit on the council, joining business leaders expected to help translate the initiative’s large development goal into investable power projects.

With a portfolio that includes Egbin Power Plc, Ikeja Electric, and First Independent Power Limited, Sahara Power Group’s inclusion and the appointment of Adesina to the council reflects its long‑standing role in strengthening Africa’s power ecosystem through investments across generation, distribution, renewable and off‑grid energy solutions, and data‑enabled infrastructure. 

Speaking on his appointment, Adesina, a pan-Africanist, seasoned entrepreneur and avowed promoter of the Pan African dream of regional integration and trade, said he was honoured to join the council because of the shared ambition to connect more Africans to electricity in the near future. 

According to him, his inclusion in the council is an opportunity to advance collaborative solutions to Africa’s energy challenges, pointing out that delivering electricity at scale would depend on coordinated partnerships, sustained private investment, and a strong pipeline of bankable projects” capable of translating policy ambition into tangible outcomes.

Adesina said the initiative underscores the indispensable role of the private sector in closing Africa’s electricity access gap.

“Closing Africa’s electricity gap will require strategic collaboration and sustained private investment. Mission 300 provides a credible platform for aligning policy ambition with bankable projects, and Sahara Power Group is proud to contribute its experience in developing, operating, and financing power assets that deliver reliable electricity and economic value,” Adesina said.

He noted that Sahara Power Group’s participation aligns with its broader strategy of enabling power systems that support industrial growth, economic transformation, and inclusive development across Africa.

“Access to reliable electricity is a prerequisite for industrialisation and competitiveness. Through Mission 300, we have an opportunity to deepen collaboration between governments, development institutions, and private investors to bring energy responsibly to Africa,” he added.

Announcing the launch of the Council, Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), who co-chairs the council with Ray Chambers, Chair of the MCJ Foundation said: “Mission 300’s success depends on mobilising private investment at scale and implementing strategies shaped by businesses with experience in Africa’s energy sector. This council brings exactly that – senior leaders with the networks and expertise to translate ambition into impact.”