Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, has secured a €55.4 million ($64.71 million) loan from Afreximbank to accelerate the country’s solar-based rural electrification programme.
According to the Ministry of Energy, the financing will support the third phase of a government project. This phase targets 200 rural localities that remain unconnected to the national grid.
The approval follows earlier financing agreements with Afreximbank. In 2023, the bank committed €44 million ($51.47 million), followed by a 35 billion CFA-franc ($57.45 million) loan authorised by the economy ministry the next year.
The Rural Electrification Agency (AER) in the country reports that only 20% of rural residents currently have electricity.
Under the new phase, 51 additional villages are set to gain access to power through solar installations.
Out of nearly 9,000 villages still lacking electricity, this phase will cover just 11% of the area.
Authorities estimate that full nationwide rural electrification will require 874 billion CFA francs ($1.55 billion).
Recent solar project
Several recent developments highlight Cameroon’s shift toward distributed renewable solutions.
In 2025, the government commissioned two new solar plants in underserved zones.
The plants were added alongside existing mini-grid and home-system projects in northern and eastern regions.
The plants increase solar capacity in addition to the country’s hydroelectric power infrastructure.
Factors driving the shift to solar
A 2013 report by the AfDB found that only 18% of Cameroonians had access to energy.
This is despite the country’s abundance of resources, including oil, gas, hydropower, and solar.
It noted that hydropower provides 60% of Cameroon’s installed electricity capacity of 1,400 MW.
Output fluctuates during the dry season, forcing the country to rely on costly thermal power units.
Eneo, Cameroon’s main electricity provider, said seasonal rainfall patterns affect reservoir levels, causing fluctuations in hydropower output and occasional supply disruptions in areas far from transmission lines.
Richard Balla, director of renewable energy at Cameroon’s Ministry of Water and Energy, said the government’s 2035 economic growth plans depend on providing energy to the more than 70 % of the population living in rural areas.
“The key to the government’s 2035 economic growth plans lies in the provision of energy, especially to the over 70% of the population who live in rural areas,” the director said.
Additional funding supporting rural electrification
In 2024, the European Union pledged CFA 38.7 billion ($62.4 million) to support rural electrification across hundreds of localities in Cameroon.
Private and independent initiatives have also contributed by installing solar units in rural households and public facilities.
Between 2015 and 2024, grid-connected solar capacity in Cameroon rose from 0 MW to 63 MW.
Off-grid systems, including standalone solar units and hybrid solar-diesel mini-grids, increased from 0.2 MW to 27.1 MW over the same period.
