Sierra Leone Secures $2.2 Billion Mission 300 Energy Compact Endorsement

Sierra Leone has achieved a major breakthrough in its energy sector with the official endorsement of its $2.2 billion Mission 300 Energy Compact — the largest infrastructure development plan in the country’s history.

The endorsement, granted by the World Bank Group (WBG), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and other partners, was announced on Wednesday during a ceremony at the Bloomberg Global Forum 2025 in New York.

Mission 300 aims to expand electricity access in Sierra Leone from the current 36 percent to 78 percent. The plan focuses on boosting power generation with an emphasis on renewables, upgrading transmission and distribution systems, promoting clean cooking solutions, and creating a stronger environment for private sector investment and governance reforms.

President Julius Maada Bio, who also serves as Minister of Energy, received the endorsement letter on behalf of the government. He described the compact as the most ambitious and comprehensive energy initiative in Sierra Leone’s history, saying it offers “the greatest promise for unlocking sustainable and inclusive development for our people.”

The initiative was developed by the Inter-Ministerial Coordination Group, co-chaired by Finance Minister Sheku A.F. Bangura and Dr. Kandeh K. Yumkella, who also chairs the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security, and the Energy Governance Coordination Group (EGCG).

Seventeen other countries also secured endorsements for their national energy compacts under the broader Mission 300 program — a joint initiative of the World Bank and AfDB designed to provide electricity access to 300 million people across Africa by 2030.