As Africa’s energy transition gathers pace, unlocking grid capacity, accelerating infrastructure financing and crowding in private capital will be critical to ensuring the continent’s energy ambitions translate into meaningful economic growth, energy resilience and industrial development.
Collaboration between the public and private sectors will remain central to accelerating energy infrastructure development across the continent, particularly as countries work to strengthen energy security, expand transmission capacity and support long-term economic growth.
This comes at a pivotal moment for Africa’s economies, with growing demand for reliable electricity, increasing investor appetite for sustainable infrastructure, and heightened focus on enabling the infrastructure required to support inclusive growth and competitiveness.
Standard Bank continues to play an active role in supporting sustainable infrastructure development across the continent through financing, advisory capabilities and partnerships across the energy value chain. Standard Bank Group has committed to mobilising more than R450 billion in sustainable finance by 2028 in support of Africa’s just energy transition and broader sustainable development objectives.
According to Deerosh Maharaj, Executive Head for Energy, Infrastructure & Mining at Business and Commercial Banking, Standard Bank South Africa, creating investable opportunities and scalable financing models across the energy ecosystems will be key to supporting Africa’s evolving energy needs.
“Africa’s energy transition presents a significant opportunity to deepen collaboration between governments, development finance institutions and the private sector to mobilise the capital required for long-term infrastructure development. Continued investment into transmission infrastructure, renewable energy integration and broader enabling infrastructure will be essential in supporting energy resilience, competitiveness and economic growth across the continent,” says Maharaj.
The evolving energy landscape also continues to create opportunities for increased investment across energy infrastructure and broader enabling sectors that support long-term growth and resilience.
Sameer Bagwandeen, Head of Energy & Infrastructure SA at Business and Commercial Banking, Standard Bank South Africa, says access to reliable and sustainable energy infrastructure remains closely linked to the long-term growth prospects of businesses across sectors.
“Across sectors, businesses are increasingly looking for practical financing solutions and strategic partnerships that can help support operational resilience, growth and long-term sustainability in an evolving energy environment. The transition also presents significant opportunities for businesses to participate more actively across energy-related value chains, including infrastructure development, localisation and broader supplier ecosystems,” says Bagwandeen.
These are among some of the conversations Standard Bank will be leading at Enlit Africa 2026, taking place this week in Cape Town, where policymakers, financiers, utilities, developers and energy stakeholders from across the continent are gathering to engage on the future of Africa’s energy ecosystem, infrastructure investment and energy transition priorities.
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Terry Volkwyn – Former-CEO of Primedia, founder of Lead SA: Considered as one of the most powerful and influential women in media but Terry Volkwyn never dreamed of a career in radio. She wanted to be a lawyer but didn\’t have the right matric subjects, so she went into dress-designing. After another career change, Volkwyn sold advertising space for the Rand Daily Mail when Radio 702 was launched. She instantly loved the rebelliousness of it and started running its sales team and selling up a storm. Eventually she would move from sales to programme manager and up the ladder until she reached the very top. In 2006, she was named Boss of the Year. In 2012, she won Company Women of the Decade in Media. In 2013, she was inducted into the MTN Radio Awards Hall of Fame.