Ghana’s Energy and Green Transition Minister, Dr John Abdulai Jinapor, says financing remains the biggest barrier to unlocking Africa’s energy potential.

He said coordinated investment was needed to enable the continent to harness its energy resources to support technology, innovation, industrial growth and development.

Dr Jinapor made the comments at the Stellenbosch Business School Alumni Association Thought Leadership Forum in Accra on Thursday, on the theme: “Technology-Powered Africa: Financing Sustainable Energy & Enterprise Transformation.”

In a speech read on his behalf, Dr Jinapor said Africa’s energy sector was constrained by high capital costs linked to perceived risks, limited investment concentration and inadequate funding for energy access and infrastructure.

He said public and private financiers, including G20-linked institutions and multilateral development banks, mobilised about US$345 billion for African energy projects between 2012 and 2021.

He noted, however, that about 77 per cent of the funds went to only ten countries, including Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Angola, Morocco, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia.

Dr Jinapor urged African governments to prioritise strategic and collaborative financing to develop sustainable and resilient power systems and deepen regional electricity trade.

He said the continent possessed significant energy resources, including strong solar potential and oil and gas reserves in countries such as Nigeria, Mozambique, Algeria and Senegal, yet more than half of Africans lacked access to electricity.

The Minister said the challenge was particularly evident in clean cooking, where many households continued to depend on inefficient firewood use, contributing to health problems, deforestation and waste.

He said closing the gap between Africa’s energy potential and reality required effective funding structures, cost controls and government commitment.

“With the right funding structures, cost controls, and government prioritisation, Africa can unlock its energy wealth to drive industrialization and poverty reduction.

“African governments need to prioritise actions, capitalise economic transformation and manage energy resources as an economic base, not as a social handout plagued by subsidies and overspending,” he encouraged.

Dr Jinapor called for sustained investment in transmission, distribution and energy storage, as well as stronger cross-border electricity trade.

He said sharing excess power within the region could help countries “push it to countries ahead of us and improve energy security.”

During a panel discussion, speakers said Africa needed to strengthen its technological and data capabilities, noting that access to capital alone would not address the continent’s development challenges.

The speakers, drawn from academia, finance and industry, called for a common vision on sustainable development and collective action to achieve it.

They cited mobile money as evidence that technology could succeed in Africa when adapted to local realities and urged similar approaches in sectors such as energy access.