Africa is at the centre of the International Solar Alliance’s (ISA) mission to accelerate solar-powered development and achieve universal energy access.
With the world’s highest solar potential and fast-growing economies driving up energy demand, large-scale solar deployment can bridge the continent’s energy gap with clean, affordable solutions.
The upcoming Regional Committee Meeting (RCM) for Africa in Accra will be a pivotal moment to channel investments, strengthen institutional capacity, and align the continent’s solar ambitions with global action.
In the run-up to the Meeting, Mr Ashish Khanna, Director General, International Solar Alliance, noted, “Africa receives less than 2% of global clean energy investments, even as over 600 million people remain without access to electricity despite the continent’s vast solar potential. This must change.
At the Regional Committee Meeting in Accra, we are moving from ambition to action— partnering on platforms like Mission 300, bringing governments, financiers, innovators, and partners together to unlock private sector-led solar investments, strengthen policies and institutions, and build local capacity. Guided by ISA’s four pillars—Catalytic Finance Hub, Global Capability Centre and Digitisation, Technology Roadmap and Policy, and Regional and Country-level Engagement — we are advancing initiatives such as the Africa Solar Facility, facilitating solar led agricultural transformation and STAR-Centres of Excellence to de-risk capital, foster innovation, provide digital and AI solutions to create jobs and inclusive growth.
Our goal is not just to share solutions, but to shape them together with African nations—ensuring no one is left behind in the solar revolution.”
ISA’s strategy – anchored in catalytic finance, integrated institutional strengthening, technology roadmaps, policy innovation, and AI and digital interventions — will shape the RCM agenda through side events, technical sessions, and high-level dialogues aimed at delivering tangible results.
Key focus areas and expected outcomes include:
Catalytic Finance to Unlock Solar Investments
Persistent barriers—high perceived risk, underdeveloped financial markets, and limited concessional flows—continue to impede solar expansion.
The RCM will spotlight ISA’s financing instruments — the Africa Solar Facility (ASF) of USD 200 million, and the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) with technical assistance resources of USD 25 million — which deploy blended finance, de-risk investments, and mobilise both public and private capital.
Engagements will connect Member Countries and DFIs with opportunities to leverage these vehicles, enriched by insights from sovereign wealth, pension, and impact funds.
Building Africa’s Solar Workforce and Institutions
Africa’s limited share of global clean energy investment has also constrained job creation, with the continent recording just 324,000 renewable energy jobs in 2023 (IRENA, 2024).
Institutional capacity remains one of the most critical enablers for skilling of human resources that would carry out the solar energy deployment.
The integrated ecosystem consists of the Solar Technology Application Resource Centres (STAR-C), with ten such centres already operational in Africa, which provide testing labs, technical training, innovation, and institutional strengthening.
ISA plans to join forces with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, the French Institut National de l’Énergie Solaire (INES), and the National Power Training Institute (NPTI) in the endeavour to connect them with state-of-the-art digital solutions through a Global Capability Centre.
At the RCM, ISA plans to huddle with Member Countries, Partner Organisations, and technical universities to elevate its integrated institutional strengthening ecosystem by building National Delivery Units under the banner of Mission 300 to achieve its ambitious targets.
Solar for Food Security
The FAO estimates that over 95 per cent of Africa’s farmland remains rain-fed, which poses risks for the region’s agricultural sector that employs over 60 per cent of Africa’s workforce but requires the import of over USD 400 bn of food in Africa currently.
Lack of reliable energy hampers irrigation, proper storage of the farm produce and its delivery to markets. Solar-powered agricultural applications offer transformative potential for the food-energy-water nexus, as explored in detail by the ISA programme ‘Scaling Solar Applications for Agricultural Use’ (SSAAU).
The RCM will host a session on solar for food security, showcasing solutions piloted by ISA under one of its projects, including solar irrigation and cold storage systems – aimed at reducing food spoilage, boosting productivity, and creating rural livelihoods – with insights from ISA Member Countries.
Digitalisation and AI for Energy Transformation
Digital transformation of the energy sector is no longer optional – it is foundational for scaling solar deployment in an efficient, resilient, and inclusive manner. As per the IEA (2023), the adoption of digital technologies has the potential to generate savings of up to USD 1.8 trillion in global grid investments by 2050 through enhanced utilisation and extended lifespan of existing infrastructure.
However, while advanced economies have embraced digital infrastructure and AI-driven energy systems, a significant digital divide persists across the globe.
The RCM will facilitate discussions on the role of digital public infrastructure, including AI-driven energy management systems, digital twins, and digital procurement platforms in enabling smart solar expansion.
Through these engagements, ISA aims to foster catalytic finance, institutional resilience, digital innovation, and cross-sector integration, directly supporting SDG 7 and Paris Agreement goals.
The partnerships and roadmaps forged in Accra will be instrumental in translating Africa’s solar potential into sustainable, inclusive growth.
About the ISA Regional Committee for the Africa Region
The Regional Committees of the ISA meet annually, chaired by two Vice Presidents from the Region, and aim to assess and discuss progress, challenges, and opportunities related to ISA’s programmatic support, flagship initiatives, partnerships, private sector engagements, and work plan for the Region.
A significant goal of the Regional Committee Meetings is smooth coordination among the Region’s Member Countries. At present, the Africa Region hosts 39 Member Countries and 07 Signatory Countries.
About the International Solar Alliance
The International Solar Alliance is a global initiative launched in 2015 by India and France at COP21 in Paris. It has 124 Member and Signatory Countries.
The Alliance works with governments to improve energy access and security worldwide and promotes solar power as a sustainable transition to a clean energy future. ISA’s mission is to unlock investments in solar energy while reducing the cost of technology and financing it.
It promotes the use of solar energy in agriculture, healthcare, transportation, and power generation sectors.
ISA Member Countries are driving change by enacting policies and regulations, sharing best practices, agreeing on common standards, and mobilising investments.
Through this work, ISA has identified, designed and tested new business models for solar projects; supported governments to make their energy legislation and policies solar friendly through Ease of Doing Solar analytics and advisory; pooled demand for solar technology from different countries; and drove down costs; improved access to finance by reducing the risks and making the sector more attractive to private investment; increased access to solar training, data and insights for solar engineers and energy policymakers.
With its advocacy for solar-powered solutions, ISA aims to transform lives, bring clean, reliable, and affordable energy to communities worldwide, fuel sustainable growth, and improve quality of life.
On 6 December 2017, 15 countries signed and ratified the ISA Framework Agreement, making ISA the first international intergovernmental organisation headquartered in India.
ISA is partnering with multilateral development banks (MDBs), development financial institutions (DFIs), private and public sector organisations, civil society, and other international institutions to deploy cost-effective and transformational solutions through solar energy, especially in the least Developed Countries (LDCs) and the Small Island Developing States (SIDS).