Sahara Group has called for a new approach to Africa’s energy transition, infrastructure financing and energy journalism, urging stakeholders to adopt practical solutions tailored to the continent’s unique realities.
Speaking at the third edition of Asharami Square, Sahara Group’s thought leadership platform, on Wednesday in Lagos, the company’s Director of Governance and Sustainability, Ejiro Gray, said Africa’s energy future should be shaped through innovation, collaboration and sustainable development.
Gray said the company’s Beyond XXX vision seeks to promote long-term sustainable growth and stressed that the continent’s energy transition must respond to local needs.
She also called on the media to provide balanced, evidence-based reporting that helps audiences understand the broader implications of energy developments.
“Effective journalism should not only tell us what happened; it should help us understand why it matters, whose interests are affected and what perspectives are missing from the conversation,” she said.
Delivering the keynote address, the Special Adviser to the Nigerian President on Power Infrastructure, Sadiq Wanka, said ongoing reforms in Nigeria’s power sector were opening investment opportunities in embedded generation, mini-grids, renewable energy, transmission infrastructure and industrial power.
He noted that the sector’s greatest challenge was no longer technology but attracting long-term investment.
“The issue is no longer technology. The real challenge is mobilising capital at scale, structuring bankable opportunities and creating an ecosystem that attracts long-term financing,” Wanka said.
A panel discussion on “Who is Financing Africa’s Energy Future?” concluded that while Africa has sufficient capital to support infrastructure development, stronger governance, improved investor confidence and well-prepared projects are needed to unlock sustainable financing.