ARE welcomes AU-EU commitments, calls for stronger support to DRE
The Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) welcomes the outcomes of the AU-EU Summit and the EU-Africa Business Forum (EABF) held in Luanda on 24–25 November 2025. The discussions reaffirm that Africa and Europe remain partners of choice for resilient and sustainable development, with a shared commitment to scaling up clean energy investment and accelerating universal energy access.
In her address, President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted a stark imbalance: Africa hosts 60% of the world’s best solar potential but receives only 2% of global clean energy investment. Closing this gap is essential to meeting Africa’s energy access needs and to strengthening local green value chains. The EU confirmed that Global Gateway remains the central vehicle for this partnership, having already delivered €120 billion of its €150 billion investment target for Africa by 2030.
A Joint Business Declaration (JBD), adopted by African and European business organisations during EABF, provides a roadmap to turn Global Gateway commitments into bankable projects. It calls for:
- Structured engagement of the private sector, with transparent and accessible mechanisms for SMEs;
- Stronger risk-mitigation, blended-finance instruments and export-credit solutions;
- Dedicated project-preparation support to generate predictable deal flow.
ARE strongly supports these priorities. At the same time, ARE urges all stakeholders to keep in mind the specific requirements needed to scale decentralised renewable energy (DRE), which is essential to reaching SDG7 and safeguarding Europe’s industrial leadership in clean technology. ARE therefore calls for:
- Smaller ticket sizes (€1–50 million) and a clear pathway for clustering DRE investments into portfolios that can access Global Gateway instruments.
- Tailored blended-finance tools that bundle and de-risk DRE project portfolios, supported by patient capital and concessional debt that reflect the risk profile of last-mile electrification.
- Robust market-development programmes and technical assistance, including support for investment readiness and long-term planning, building on initiatives such as the ARE Investment Academies.
By fully integrating DRE into Global Gateway implementation, the EU can accelerate energy access, create local green jobs and reinforce its competitive leadership in renewable energy technologies. ARE stands ready to work with the EU, AU and all partners to turn political momentum into concrete investments that deliver sustainable, inclusive growth.
