Rockefeller Foundation to Expand Mission 300 Fellowship Program to at least 18 African Countries

• To help speed electrification rates in support of the World Bank and African Development Bank effort to expand electrification to 300 million Africans by 2030
  
  
• Announced Mission 300 Fellows are already providing technical assistance in Burundi, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Republic of Congo, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, with more on the way

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- During Mission 300 Day at the 2026 Africa Energy Indaba, The Rockefeller Foundation announced that it is collaborating with nonprofit impact accelerator CoAction Global to expand support for technical assistance fellowships to at least 18 African countries in support of the World Bank Group and African Development Bank effort to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030. Working to support countries' National Energy Compact Delivery and Monitoring Units (CDMUs), four additional "Mission 300 Fellows" will assist with overall efforts to drive electrification progress, while the first four "Clean Cooking Fellows" will help strengthen institutional capacity to develop investable projects. Supported by the Mission 300 Accelerator, an initiative of The Rockefeller Foundation's public charity, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC), the philanthropic organization also announced that 13 of the initial cohort of "Mission 300 Fellows" are already providing technical support in CDMUs in Burundi, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Republic of Congo, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.

"It's clear these fellows are making a difference, helping cut through red tape and increasing the rate of electrification in their countries. We are proud to expand this program in support of Mission 300, so we can continue improving people's lives and livelihoods by giving them the tools they need to thrive," said William Asiko, Vice President of Africa at The Rockefeller Foundation.

Today, more than 730 million people still lack access to basic electricity, with an estimated 600 million living in Africa. This shortage hinders healthcare, education, digital inclusion, women and children empowerment, the creation of local jobs, building economic opportunity, and more. In addition, approximately one billion people in Africa rely on traditional fuels such as wood and charcoal, which significantly increases household air pollution for families, especially for women and children, and the associated health risks that cause more than 810,000 premature deaths every year in sub-Saharan Africa.

Led by the World Bank and African Development Bank, Mission 300 is an ambitious initiative to combat energy poverty and unlock opportunity by expanding electricity to 300 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. During the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in January 2025, African government leaders endorsed the Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration, which affirms their joint commitment to advance critical reforms and actions across the energy sector to increase access to electricity and clean cooking, increase the share of renewable energy, and increase private capital mobilization. To date, Mission 300 has connected approximately 44 million people to electricity.  

The Rockefeller Foundation's Mission 300 Fellowship Program
With support from The Rockefeller Foundation in association with the Mission 300 Accelerator, the original cohort of 14 "Mission 300 Fellows" were selected by CoAction Global for two-year fellowships, out of 3,000 applications from nearly every African country. Currently, 13 are working to provide technical assistance to CDMUs to help increase electrification rates in Burundi, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Republic of Congo, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, with one additional country nearly finalized. With the expansion of this fellowship program, an additional four fellows are in the pipeline based on growing demand and an extremely strong pool of African candidates.

Designed to support key gaps that will accelerate access to energy in each market, while also aligning to overall Mission 300 priorities, fellows have the unique opportunity to gain firsthand experience addressing pressing country needs while making meaningful contributions to the advancement of the energy sector in Africa. Examples of fellow engagement include, but are not limited to: 

• Supporting the development of CDMUs to guide operationalization, coordination, and performance tracking.  
  
  
• Defining milestones, timelines, and reporting structures to ensure accountability and progress in implementing the compact. 
  
  
• Meeting with key officials across the government to understand current operations and linkages to the country's National Energy Compact. 
  
  
• Coordinating across institutions and with multilateral banks, including the World Bank and African Development Bank. 

The Rockefeller Foundation with the Mission 300 Accelerator and the nonprofit Energy Corps are providing additional support to CoAction Global to develop a cohort of "Clean Cooking Fellows" to strengthen institutional capacity to develop investable projects within countries' CDMUs.

"Mission 300 Fellows represent some of the brightest emerging leaders on the African continent, drawing on their lived experiences, with nuance and innovation, to address longstanding electrification challenges in some of the most complex environments. Although they have only been deployed to CDMUs for a few months, their significant contributions already demonstrate that this model works. CoAction Global is deeply grateful for the support of The Rockefeller Foundation's RF Catalytic Capital, as well as Energy Corps, which enables us to nurture the next generation of African energy leaders. This is what accelerating impact looks like," said Stephanie Kumah, CoAction Global's Operations and Partnerships Manager for the Mission 300 Fellowship.

As part of the new Clean Cooking Accelerator Initiative launched by The Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, Clean Cooking Alliance, and Energy Corps during the International Energy Agency's 2026 Ministerial, four new "Clean Cooking Fellows" will be selected over the coming months to help further efforts to scale modern cooking technologies in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Also announced during Mission 300 Day at the 2026 Africa Energy Indaba, The Rockefeller Foundation is:

• Investing an additional US$10 million to accelerate electricity connections in Africa by 2030. The Rockefeller Foundation along with the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet are supporting fast-track electrification efforts involving technical assistance to National Energy CDMUs in at least 15 African countries to help improve coordination, monitoring, reporting, and implementation capacity.
  
  
• Actively providing technical assistance to CDMUs in five countries with more on the way. As part of this new collaboration with the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, technical assistance is already being provided to CDMUs in Malawi and Liberia. In parallel, The Rockefeller Foundation announced that the support for the Mission 300 Accelerator is helping improve coordination, monitoring, reporting, and implementation capacity within CDMUs in Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Senegal with previously announced funding with RFCC.

Statements of Support

Regarding "Mission 300 Fellows" working in CDMUs in Lesotho and Liberia:

• "Hope has been instrumental in supporting Lesotho in its Mission 300 National Energy Compact. Her fresh perspective and strategic thinking have been a strong addition to the team. She has moved on well with adaptability, professionalism and a collaborative approach that has enabled her to add value from the outset demonstrating the value addition for the CoAction Global support in propelling forward the Compact implementation." ― Mr. Tankiso Phapano, Principal Secretary of the Lesotho Ministry of Energy
  
  
• "The Mission 300 Fellowship Program represents a critical investment in Liberia's human capacity for the energy sector. By empowering young professionals with the skills, exposure, and networks needed to drive reform and implementation, this initiative directly supports our national energy ambitions and accelerates progress toward universal access. Sharon has been very instrumental to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, providing technical support to the Department of Energy and supporting the early establishment and operational readiness of the Compact Delivery and Monitoring Unit (CDMU), which serves as Liberia's core Mission 300 delivery mechanism." ― Madam Joebarline Gbozee, Director, Bureau of Energy Planning, Research and Policy at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Republic of Liberia

Regarding "Mission 300 Fellows" working in Chad and Liberia:

• "Power shortages, transportation challenges, language barriers, and extreme weather conditions shape everyday work and mental energy in Chad...Seeing firsthand the daily impact of limited electricity access (power cuts, unsafe streets, heat) made me understand the urgency and human significance of the work we are doing as Mission 300 Fellows." ― Placide Fakhigui Assana, Mission 300 Fellow working in Chad's CDMU
  
  
• "Where my grandmother lives in Zimunya, Zimbabwe, she does not have consistent access to electricity... I can see my grandma in the work that we're doing. I can see my grandmother as we look at where the substations are located here in Liberia, as we look at the different places that independent power producers could develop projects and transmit energy." ― Sharon Matongo, Mission 300 Fellow from Zimbabwe working in Liberia's CDMU

About The Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation that enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We make big bets to promote the well-being of humanity in food, health, energy, and finance, including with our public charity, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC). For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn and LinkedIn @the-rockefeller-foundation. 

About CoAction Global
CoAction Global is an independent nonprofit impact accelerator providing a vital link between people and places to generate economic prosperity in some of the world's most challenging contexts. As an operational catalyst, the organization connects local leadership and ideas with global capabilities to advance economic opportunity, drive community investment, and convene partnerships that propel sustainability, innovation and empowerment. For more information, please visit coactionglobal.org, sign up for updates, and follow us on LinkedIn @coaction-global-org.