Ghana’s Energy and Green Transition Minister John Abdulai Jinapor on Tuesday reiterated Ghana’s commitment to building a strong regional electricity trade under the West African Power Pool and deeper regional electricity market within the wider framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a catalyst for Africa’s industrialization.
Jinapor said during the two-day 2026 Future of Energy Conference in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, that no single African electricity market can deliver the scale required for continental industrialization, urging a more integrated electricity market to support a more integrated industrial economy on the continent.
According to the Ghanaian minister, cross-border electricity trade allows countries to share reserves, optimize generation, and reduce the need for expensive standby capacity, urging the “West African subregion to develop industrial corridors powered by competitively priced electricity generated within our region.”
“This requires stronger interconnections, regulatory harmonization, payment security, and disciplined regional market rules. A more integrated electricity market can support a more integrated industrial economy,” he highlighted.
While the continent charts its industrialization path, the minister urged the continent to plan energy and industrialization together, so infrastructure anticipates productive demand.
He said Africa should also work to drive down the structural cost of electricity, including fuel, financing, losses, and inefficient contracting; as well as build a balanced generation mix, combining gas, renewables, storage, and strong transmission for sustainable source of power to drive the continent’s industrialization.
The minister said Africa’s industrial transformation requires reliable electricity, affordable power, resilient grids, financially viable utilities, sustainable contracts and policies that convert Africa’s resources into African industry, jobs, and prosperity.
“Africa must, therefore, mobilize private capital on sustainable terms, protecting investors and consumers; and deepen regional integration, so Africa’s electricity market can match the ambition of the AfCFTA,” Jinapor added.
The two-day Future of Energy Conference, organized by the Africa Center for Energy Policy, is under the theme, “Powering Africa’s Industrial Transformation: Energy Systems for Value Addition and Competitiveness.”