The global shift from fossil fuels to cleaner, renewable sources has been underway for decades, but it has gained real urgency since the turn of the century. At its core, the energy transition is about reducing carbon emissions and avoiding the economic, environmental, and social disruptions driven by climate change. Unsurprisingly, it now sits at the centre of global political discourse and the work of international organizations committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Across the world, countries have set increasingly ambitious net-zero targets. The European Union, for example, saw its emissions peak as far back as 1990 and has since followed a steady downward trajectory, underpinned by legally binding commitments to reach net zero by 2050. In Asia, targets vary widely, reflecting different economic realities, but major economies such as China, Japan, South Korea, India, and Singapore have all articulated long-term decarbonization goals. These commitments are supported by national transition strategies and by Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, which outline each country’s highest possible ambition to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. 

Africa’s energy transition has more in common with Asia’s than Europe’s. Net-zero targets across the continent are uneven, with major economies aiming for 2050 or 2060 and requiring an estimated US$2.8 trillion in investment before 2030 to get there. South Africa has committed to net zero by 2050, while Nigeria is targeting 2060. What unites these ambitions is a strong emphasis on renewables as the foundation for a just and inclusive transition. 

This focus makes sense. Africa holds around 60 percent of the world’s best solar resources and roughly 40 percent of global renewable energy potential. Yet only a fraction of this potential has been harnessed (around 1 percent for solar, 7 percent for wind, and 11 percent for hydropower). While renewables account for most new generation capacity on the continent, overall installed capacity remains low. Weak grid infrastructure, limited technical and institutional capacity, and inconsistent regulatory frameworks make it difficult to turn abundant resources into bankable, deployable projects. 

Financing remains another major constraint. Clean energy projects in Africa are often perceived as high risk due to macroeconomic volatility, currency depreciation, political and regulatory uncertainty, and limited track records in some markets. As a result, developers struggle to access affordable, long-term financing, relying instead on short-tenor and high-interest debt that undermines project viability. These challenges are compounded by the weak financial health of many public utilities, whose low creditworthiness and delayed payments increase counterparty risk for investors. Taken together, high perceived risk, constrained financing options, and unreliable off-takers significantly raise the cost of capital and discourage private investment, even in projects with strong demand, clear climate benefits, and high development impact. 

Yet this challenge is also a major opportunity. Africa’s renewable energy potential, combined with its scale of investment needs, creates space for governments, donors, project developers, and financiers to work together in new and more effective ways, driving the energy transition while creating jobs and unlocking broader economic growth. 

Italy approaches this opportunity with a clear strategic lens. Through the Mattei Plan for Africa, Italy is positioning its engagement around partnerships that can translate shared priorities, energy access, industrial development, and climate resilience, into real projects on the ground. For the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE), this agenda is closely tied to accelerating clean energy deployment and strengthening the enabling conditions that make investments viable, from project preparation and technical capacity to the de-risking that helps crowd in private capital. 

In this context, the question is less whether Africa can lead in renewables, and more whether development cooperation can help convert strong potential into investable pipelines at speed and at scale. That requires partnerships designed for delivery, with the right mix of public support, technical assistance, and structured engagement with financiers. 

It is at this intersection that the UNDP Rome Centre for Climate Action and Energy Transition operates. The Centre works to bridge Africa’s clean energy financing gap by identifying high-quality projects with bankability potential, providing targeted technical assistance, and connecting these projects to a network of established financiers.

Working closely with the Italian government through the Mattei Plan for Africa, the Centre supports programmes with a clear mission: linking projects to finance so they can move from concept to implementation. While the centre is based in Rome, it supports and works very closely with UNDP country offices on-the-ground to ensure that programmatic goals aligned with country priorities are achieved. Hence, a testament to UNDP’s robust network both within donor and implementing countries. 

Within this partnership, each partner brings something distinct to the table. UNDP contributes deep contextual knowledge of African markets, experience in project finance, and strong in-country and international networks. The Italian government provides the catalytic funding that allows these programmes to function and deliver. In turn, successful project deployment contributes both to national development outcomes, more electricity access, more jobs, better livelihoods, and to global climate goals, including emissions reduction commitments under the Mattei Plan. 

This model points to a broader lesson. Partnerships that bring together donors, governments, project developers, financiers (including development finance institutions) and international organizations like UNDP are not just efficient; they are essential. Donors provide the resources to de-risk early stages, governments set priorities and create enabling environments, developers bring forward viable projects, financiers supply capital and UNDP uses its convening power to connect the dots and move projects along the pipeline. 

We are already seeing the results as several projects in our pipeline are receiving technical assistance grants to reach bankability, while more advanced ones are actively engaging with our network of financiers for potential financing. These are modest but meaningful steps, and they show how innovative development partnerships that bring together several key partners to achieve a common aim can help accelerate Africa’s energy transition. Not as a distant ambition, but as a practical, investable reality.

This article was originally published in Italian in the magazine Africa e Affari.