Many of us take turning on a light switch or connecting our devices to a home Wi-Fi network for granted. If our phones need charging, we plug them in, if we want hot water we boil a kettle. These are things we don’t think about, because we don’t have to. But around 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa still live without access to electricity.

In this episode of The Development Podcast, we look at Mission 300, an ambitious plan from the World Bank Group and partners, which will link 300 million people to electricity by 2030.

• Ajay Banga, President, World Bank Group
• Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of Tanzania
• Victoria Kwakwa, Regional Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, World Bank Group
• Andrew Herscowitz, the CEO of Mission 300 Accelerator, established by Rockefeller Catalytic Capital
• Hassanein Hiridjee, CEO, Axian Group
• Klaartje Schnade, Co-founder, Mwani Zanzibar
• Nora Anyidoho, Ghanian Poet

[00:00] Introducing the topic: Powering Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

[03:33] Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit

[06:28] The link between electrification and jobs: Visions of an entrepreneur in Zanzibar

[10:50] Achieving the Mission 300 target

[14:21] Partnerships are key to achieving the targets set by the Mission 300 plan

[20:13] The private sector is a crucial part of the energy puzzle

[28:12] Poem from Ghanaian poet, Nora Anyidoho

This international development podcast brings together the data, research—and solutions—that can pave the way to a sustainable future. Through conversations focused on revealing the latest data, the best research, and cutting-edge solutions, let us introduce you to the folks working to make the world a better place. Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. And rate our show! ;)

Tell us what you think of our podcast here >>>. We would love to hear from you!

The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for low-income countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.

As the world approaches the quarter way point of the 21st century, we take stock of the last year in development and the challenges ahead. And we return to the work of the International Development Association (IDA), in verse. Join us as we hear from Ayhan Kose, Deputy Chief Economist of the World Bank Group and Director of the Prospects Group, and Emi Mahmoud, Poet, activist and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador.

[00:00] Welcome and introduction to the topic

[03:45] Global economy and growth despite intertwined challenges

[06:47] Eradicating poverty and boosting shared prosperity on a livable planet

[11:43] Biggest challenges facing low-income countries

[15:32] 2025: Hopes for the next year

[21:22] Emi Mahmoud, Sudanese activist spoken word poet and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador

This international development podcast brings together the data, research—and solutions—that can pave the way to a sustainable future. Through conversations focused on revealing the latest data, the best research, and cutting-edge solutions, let us introduce you to the folks working to make the world a better place. Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. And rate our show! ;)

Tell us what you think of our podcast here >>>. We would love to hear from you!

The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for low-income countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.

The International Development Association (IDA) is the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s low-income countries. IDA's grants and low-interest loans help countries invest in their futures, improve lives, and create safer, more prosperous communities around the world. Replenished every three years, IDA’s current round of negotiations is scheduled to conclude in December 2024 in a final pledging meeting in Seoul, Korea.

As IDA completes its 21st replenishment, we journey to Korea to hear how the country, which has recently pledged a 45% in its contribution, has gone from recipient to donor. And we’ll learn about some of the development priorities of another donor country, Switzerland.

• Aki Nishio, Vice President of Development Finance at the World Bank
• Juyoung Yang, Associate Fellow in the Department of Macroeconomics and Financial Policy of the Korea Development Institute
• Chantal Felder, Head of the Climate, Disaster Risk Reduction and Environment Section, Swiss Agency for Development and cooperation (SDC)

[00:00] Introducing the International Development Association (IDA)

[03:26] Korea's developmental transformation

[06:25] Visions from the ground on Korea's economic growth

[11:10] How IDA is helping countries to tackle climate change

[17:04] International cooperation: Switzerland's commitment to IDA

[20:14] Hope on the horizon in a context of polycrisis

This international development podcast brings together the data, research—and solutions—that can pave the way to a sustainable future. Through conversations focused on revealing the latest data, the best research, and cutting-edge solutions, let us introduce you to the folks working to make the world a better place. Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. And rate our show! ;)

Tell us what you think of our podcast here >>>. We would love to hear from you!

The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for low-income countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.