By Tessa Brewis, Sector Head: Projects & Energy, and Josh Da Costa, Associate, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr

As the Africa Energy Forum returns to Cape Town from 16 to 19 June 2026 under the theme Building Africa’s Industrialised Future, it comes at a moment when the energy conversation on the continent is starting to evolve.

For years, much of the focus has been on expanding access to electricity. That remains critical, but the conversation is shifting towards a broader question: how do African countries build electricity systems and localised generation capacity that can genuinely support industrial growth without reliance on traditional and often external sources of energy?

Electrification isn’t just an energy issue; it’s an economic one. Reliable, affordable, and scalable electricity underpins industrialisation. It powers factories, mining operations, processing facilities, logistics networks, data centres, and all other systems modern economies rely on. Without it, productivity is constrained, investment decisions are delayed, and long-term growth becomes much harder to sustain.

Across much of Africa, energy shortages still limit development opportunities. Millions of people remain without access to electricity, while many businesses operate in environments where supply is inconsistent and unreliable at best. These challenges don’t just affect day-to-day operations; they influence long-term investment, balance sheets, competitiveness and the ability of economies to move up the value chain.

It’s therefore not surprising that electrification is increasingly recognised as a key enabler of long-term growth. Reliable electricity helps unlock investment, supports job creation, and improves productivity across sectors. In that sense, it’s not just an infrastructure goal but a catalyst for broader economic progress.

At the same time, building electricity systems that can support industrialisation is about more than adding generation capacity. It calls for a more integrated approach, one that looks across the entire stakeholder spectrum.

Generation remains essential, but so do transmission networks, distribution infrastructure, grid access, wheeling arrangements, battery storage, and the regulatory frameworks that sit behind all of this. If any part of that system falls short, the whole network becomes less reliable, and ultimately less attractive to investors.

South Africa’s recent energy reforms offer a useful example of how African countries are responding. The Electricity Regulation Amendment Act, National Wheeling Framework, and Wholesale Market Code all form part of a broader shift towards a more competitive and diversified market.

The aim is to broaden participation in the energy sector, unlock investment in new generation capacity, and improve long-term energy security. Proper implementation will take time, but the direction is clear. Regulatory certainty and credible market reform remain key to attracting investment and enabling infrastructure development.

This matters even more given how quickly the energy sector is evolving. Across much of Africa, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa, there is growing activity in project development, infrastructure investment, renewable energy transactions, private power procurement, and independent power producer projects. Taken together, this points to increasing confidence in the sector but also highlights the need for commercially viable frameworks that are bankable and can support investment over the long term.

At the same time, the economics of energy are shifting. Renewable energy, particularly solar paired with battery storage, is becoming increasingly attractive. Not just from a sustainability perspective, but in terms of cost and reliability too. For many businesses, it’s fast becoming a practical way to secure a more predictable electricity supply while managing long-term energy costs.

Africa is well positioned – the continent has some of the world’s most attractive environmental conditions and, arguably, a real opportunity to do things differently. Many African countries have the chance to leapfrog fossil-fuel dependant economies to more modern energy systems. That creates an opportunity to expand access, strengthen energy security, and support industrial growth at the same time.

That said, renewables aren’t a silver bullet. Challenges around grid capacity, storage, and system integration still need to be addressed. Even so, they’re becoming an increasingly central part of the solution.

Regional cooperation will also play an important role. Energy challenges don’t stop at borders, and many of the most effective solutions rely on cross-border collaboration. Stronger interconnections, more integrated transmission networks, and regional power trading can help improve reliability, make better use of available resources, and create larger, more attractive markets for investment.

Across Southern Africa, there is growing recognition of this. Regional energy integration has the potential to strengthen energy security while supporting economic development. As countries continue to industrialise, collaboration will become even more important in addressing infrastructure constraints and accelerating access to reliable power.

Ultimately, electrification at scale requires more than ambition. It needs policy, regulation, infrastructure, and investment to work together in a way that is both coordinated and commercially sustainable.

This is where forums such as the Africa Energy Forum really matter. Beyond discussion, they help facilitate the partnerships and alignment needed to move projects from concept to implementation.

Importantly, the conversation is shifting from potential to execution. For many African markets, the challenge is no longer identifying opportunities, but ensuring that projects can be financed, built, connected, and operated efficiently enough to meet growing demand.

And that shift matters.

If Africa is serious about growing its industrial base, strengthening value chains and attracting long-term investment, electrification must be treated as a strategic economic priority, not as an afterthought, but as a core enabler of industrial development.

In the end, electrification is what connects ambition to reality. It’s what allows investment to translate into industries, jobs and growth. And while challenges remain, the direction is clear: reliable, scalable electricity will sit at the centre of Africa’s industrial future.