Rockefeller Foundation and World Bank Team Up to Bring Solar Technology to African Farms

Africa

The Rockefeller Foundation and the World Bank announced a joint effort to bring solar-powered technology to farms across six African nations, part of a broader push to expand clean energy and support agricultural productivity in regions where reliable electricity remains scarce.

The initiative, backed by the Rockefeller Foundation and financed with tens of millions of dollars from the World Bank, will fund the deployment of solar-powered equipment, including cold storage units, water pumps, refrigerators and grain mills, designed to help farmers preserve produce, irrigate land and boost output. The program aims to address long-standing challenges that have constrained agricultural growth, particularly in rural and off-grid areas.

Under the expanded project, which is part of the World Bank’s broader Productive Use Financing Facility, solar solutions will be rolled out in Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Implementation will be led by CLASP, a Washington-based nonprofit that focuses on energy efficiency and expanding access to clean and affordable electricity.

Officials involved with the initiative said it builds on a successful pilot phase conducted from 2022 to 2024, during which solar-powered systems were introduced to 24 businesses across the six countries. With the new funding, the project transitions from pilot operations to full-scale deployment, offering farmers tools that can reduce post-harvest losses and ease dependence on costly diesel-fueled generators, which are widespread where grid electricity is unavailable or unreliable.

The Rockefeller Foundation has committed at least $12 million to the effort, and leaders signaled that additional resources could be mobilized as the program expands. Rajiv Shah, the foundation’s president, highlighted the potential for the initiative to strengthen agricultural value chains and stimulate local economies.

“There is always the ability to scale that up. There’ll be more resources country by country as well,” Mr. Shah said in a recent visit to a solar-powered cold storage facility in Nairobi.

Analysts and development officials have noted that access to reliable electricity is a persistent challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than half a billion people still lack regular power. Without electricity, farmers often struggle to preserve perishable crops, limiting their ability to reach markets and earn higher returns.

By deploying distributed solar solutions, systems that can operate independently of centralized grids, the project aims to bridge that gap and lay a foundation for broader economic improvements. In addition to agricultural benefits, supporters say the initiative could stimulate small-scale entrepreneurship and improve food security in remote areas.

The effort aligns with a series of global commitments to expand energy access across Africa, including a broader World Bank and African Development Bank strategy to connect 300 million people to electricity by 2030. Proponents describe solar technology as a critical component of that strategy, particularly in rural regions where grid extension remains prohibitively expensive.

Still, obstacles remain. Scaling up solar infrastructure, especially in regions with limited technical capacity and financing, will require sustained collaboration between governments, international partners and local communities. Yet for many farmers, the promise of clean, reliable power offers a tangible step toward economic resilience and growth.