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Challenging the status quo and redefining Africa’s energy sector

Enlit Africa, the continent’s foremost gathering for the power, energy and water sectors, is set to return to Cape Town in May, under the bold theme Challenge the Status Quo.

Convening industry trailblazers, policymakers, financiers and innovators, Enlit Africa 2025 will ignite transformative dialogue and deliver actionable strategies.

With co-located events such as the Project & Investment Network (P&IN), Utility CEO Forum and Water Security Africa, the event promises to redefine how Africa powers its future.

A call to disrupt the norm

Africa’s power sector demands a radical shift. According to the World Bank, more than 600 million people lack reliable electricity, stunting economic progress and social development.

In February, the World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB) launched Mission 300, aiming to connect 300 million Africans by 2030 with a $48 billion pledge — an ambitious goal that requires challenging conventional models.

Enlit Africa 2025 embraces this urgency, spotlighting disruptive innovations and bold financing solutions.

With Day 1’s keynote, A Technology Driven Transformation, and Day 2’s Innovate or Stagnate, the event will push boundaries, urging stakeholders to rethink entrenched systems amidst evolving global dynamics.

Why it matters: a sector on the brink

Enlit Africa 2025 offers the tools to challenge the concept of ‘business as usual’ with 200+ speakers sharing disruptive insights. From renewable hubs to masterclasses on carbon markets, the event equips attendees to rethink energy access, sustainability and investment.

The stakes are high – without transformation, Africa risks missing its electrification goals, stalling economic growth. Yet the opportunity is equally vast — disruptive technologies and bold partnerships can unlock a sustainable, electrified future.

What to expect at Enlit Africa 2025

From 20-22 May, Enlit Africa will offer a dynamic platform to challenge norms and forge new paths. Attendees can look forward to:

• Exhibition Floor & Hub Sessions: Free-to-attend hubs will showcase groundbreaking solutions in renewable energy, power and water. From battery energy storage systems (BESS) to grid modernisation, water resource management and desalination technologies, these sessions will highlight innovations poised to disrupt Africa’s energy status quo.
• Networking opportunities: High-impact networking events, including a Standard Bank-sponsored dinner on 20 May and an Actom-hosted function on 21 May; will connect attendees with disruptors and decision-makers driving change.
• Site Visits: The ever popular site visits, such as the tour of Robben Island on 23 May will merge technical insights with a focus on sustainable energy, exemplifying practical transformation. Bookings close on the 8th May — so act fast.

These experiences will complement a robust conference programme tailored to provoke thought and inspire action.

Conference programmes: Challenging conventions across the board

Enlit Africa’s conference streams align with the Challenge the Status Quo theme, offering bold perspectives and solutions for Africa’s power sector:

1. Strategise Stage 

• Focus: Strategy, regulation, finance and management.
• Highlights: Panels will challenge norms around system planning, public-private partnerships (PPPs) and climate finance. Sessions on regional interconnectors, wholesale markets, skills development and risk mitigation will push for innovation.

2. Project & Investment Network (P&IN)

• Focus: Accelerating projects and rethinking financing.
• Highlights: Roundtables with IPPs alongside power pools (SAPP, WAPP, EAPP), will explore how to de-risk projects and unconventional ways to attract and structure capital. Masterclasses on carbon credits, battery energy storage and financial innovations (eg debt-for-climate swaps) will offer alternatives to traditional models, while Day 2’s focus on grid investment and a closing session on geopolitical shifts will challenge and rethink assumptions on investment paradigms.

3. Municipal Forum

• Focus: Reimagining municipal electricity models.
• Highlights: This stream confronts the status quo of municipal energy systems, tackling EDI restructuring, financial distress and illegal connections. Panels with SALGA and World Bank experts will question outdated distribution models, while sessions on energy efficiency and tariff unbundling will propose ways to manage demand and costs. A deep dive on infrastructure constraints will push municipalities to consider alternatives.

4. Water Security Africa 

• Focus: Disrupting water management norms.
• Highlights: Joint keynotes with Enlit Africa lead into roundtables challenging conventional water security approaches, from South Africa’s desalination push to Namibia’s groundwater recharge. Panels on the water-energy-food nexus and innovations like smart metering will defy siloed thinking, while climate financing discussions will reframe funding strategies for water-intensive sectors.

Africa’s power sector: Time to break the mould

Enlit Africa 2025 mirrors the African power sector’s need to challenge entrenched practices.

The Strategise Stage and Municipal Forum tackle regulatory and financial inertia head-on. With utilities like Eskom facing tariff pressures and municipalities drowning in debt, sessions on PPPs, climate finance and efficiency propose bold shifts.

Private capital —highlighted in the Project & Investment Network roundtables with developers and financiers — is increasingly vital, challenging public-sector dominance. Power pools disrupt fragmented markets, reducing risk and drawing investment through cross-border trade — a model ripe for expansion.

As geopolitics leads to green energy policy shifts, Africa must challenge its position in global markets. The closing session on 22 May will explore how to turn disruption into opportunity, urging stakeholders to take the current state of affairs as an opportunity for growth.

Join the Disruption

Register for a free expo pass to access hubs and the exhibition, or upgrade to premium packages for strategic sessions, roundtables and exclusive networking.

About the author

ESI Africa
Content Team

ESI Africa

ESI Africa is the global leader in disseminating African utility, energy, power, mobility and water market news and insights. We provide over 50,000 professionals with renowned high quality and insightful editorial, equipping them with essential information to drive their own businesses.