Rural electrification concessions in Africa: what does experience tell us?
This report presents a review of the experience of Sub-Saharan African countries in deploying concessions to increase both the level of electrification and the level of private investment in rural electrification from the 1990s until the present. The results have been mixed. In several cases, concessions have proven successful at increasing access to electricity. In others, evidence indicates that the effect of electricity concessions on the pace of electrification has been minimal. In yet another set of instances, the concession proved unprofitable or unworkable, and the model was abandoned.