By: Rentia van Tonder - Head of Power and Renewables, Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking

Ahead of the Africa Energy Forum in Cape Town, the central question for the continent is no longer whether the energy transition will happen, but whether it will happen at the speed and scale Africa’s economies require. For Africa, the transition must be just, practical and investable with an emphasis on flexibility. It must expand access, strengthen energy security and support industrialisation, while steadily lowering emissions and ensure cost efficiency. The urgency is clear: the 2025 edition of Tracking SDG7 shows that 565 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa were still without electricity in 2023, accounting for 85% of the global access deficit.

Africa’s growth story depends on energy that is reliable, affordable and sustainable. This is why power and renewables are central to the continent’s development agenda. Renewable energy, supported by flexible supply solutions, grid optimisation, storage and enabling policy supporting implementation, is increasingly the most credible route to closing the energy gap while building a more resilient and competitive economy.

Rapid advances in solar, wind and battery storage are reshaping the economics of power across Africa. Hybrid projects are especially important because they combine generation and storage to improve reliability and flexibility. In South Africa, the projects by Scatec, the Kenhardt projects showed what can be achieved at scale, helping move renewables from intermittent supply towards dispatchable power with 540MW of solar PV combined with 1GWh of battery energy storage.

But generation alone is not enough. Africa’s energy transition will be won or lost on the strength of its grids, transmission networks and system flexibility. As more renewable capacity comes online, grid expansion, storage and digital tools will be essential to delivering reliable electricity at scale.

Across the continent, policy and market reform are helping turn ambition into executable projects. More open power markets, clearer regulation and improved procurement frameworks are making the sector more investable. South Africa offers one of the clearest live case studies of this shift, with open access policies being implemented through wheeling, trading and private generation broadening opportunities for investors and energy users. The lesson is simple: when regulation is coherent and implementation is consistent, capital follows.

Finance will determine whether Africa moves from energy ambition to delivery. The transition will require innovative finance solutions with capital structures that reflect local realities, allocate risk appropriately and unlock investment across generation, transmission, storage and distribution. At Standard Bank, we see our role as a trusted partner supporting  structured bankable solutions, crowd in capital and connect stakeholders around commercially viable outcomes.

The next phase of Africa’s energy story will be defined by execution. The continent does not need a one-size-fits-all transition; it needs a practical pathway that expands access, supports growth and mobilises capital at scale. Ahead of the Africa Energy Forum, the focus must be on moving faster from policy to projects and from ambition to delivery. Standard Bank is committed to helping finance the power related opportunities across regions, sectors and to ensure we power Africa’s future.