The report, The Role of Middle East Leadership in Clean Energy Infrastructure Funding, argues that increasingGulf investment could help close Africa’s vast electricity access gap, support industrialisation, and advance global climate targets, provided that the capital is structured to deliver long-term, system-wide impact.
Africa is home to more than 600 million people without access to reliable electricity, yet it accounts for just 2 percent of global clean energy investment. At the same time, the continent will require an estimated $133 billion annually in clean energy funding by 2030 to meet its development and climate objectives.
With development finance from the United States, Europe, and China increasingly constrained, the report positions Gulf countries as uniquely placed to help bridge the widening funding gap.
He noted that the UAE and Saudi Arabia are demonstrating an alternative investment model focused on partnership and market creation, rather than debt-heavy lending.
Since 2010, government-backed and semi-governmental entities from the UAE and Saudi Arabia have announced more than$175 billion in clean energy investments and commitments across Africa, with most of these announcements coming after 2022.
Crucially, much of this capital has been structured as direct project investment rather than sovereign loans, reducing pressure on public debt while enabling larger and faster-moving infrastructure projects.
The UAE has expanded its footprint through institutions such as Masdar and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, backing solar, wind, geothermal, and green hydrogen projects across North, East, and Southern Africa.
Saudi Arabia, through companies including ACWA Power and the Saudi Fund for Development, has similarly scaled up investments, particularly inlarge-scale renewable and hydrogen projects in countries such as Egypt, South Africa, and Morocco.
Beyond renewable generation, CATF highlights opportunities in electricity transmission and grid infrastructure, clean firm power such as geothermal and nuclear energy, and system-level investments that link energy supply to new industrial demand, including data centres.
The report also identifies methane abatement and critical minerals as areas where Gulf expertise could deliver rapid climate benefits alongside economic returns.
Source: Africabusinessinsider