From energy crisis to resilience: what Zambia can teach Africa about powering growth

A new path to energy security

Energy security is not simply an infrastructure issue. It shapes whether businesses can operate, industries can produce and communities can participate in economic growth.

Zambia experienced that relationship directly in 2024. An ongoing drought resulted in a severe electricity shortage. More than 85% of Zambia’s power generation came from hydropower, and the energy crisis resulted in load-shedding lasting as long as 21 hours in a day.

The impact extended across the economy. Households, agriculture, mining and supporting industries were all affected. For Zambia, the challenge was bigger than restoring electricity. It was about protecting the economic activity and everyday livelihoods that depend on reliable power.

When urgency creates room for new thinking

Crises expose vulnerabilities, but they can also accelerate innovation. One of the developments was an open access model for Zambia. Africa GreenCo explains it simply: the model allows private entities such as Africa GreenCo to buy and supply energy.

The speed described by participants is striking. Rentia van Tonder, Global Head of Power & Renewables, Standard Bank, says the Africa GreenCo team presented the situation as an emergency with “six weeks to deliver”. Through the open access model, the country was able to import emergy supplies of electricity for the short-term.

That experience offers a broader lesson. Energy resilience requires infrastructure, but it also requires institutions and market mechanisms capable of responding when established models come under strain.

Resilience means increasing generation as well

An emergency response can address an immediate shortage. Long-term resilience requires something more fundamental: sufficient, diversified generation capacity.

“The vision behind the Chisamba solar project was to transform Zambia’s energy system to a more climate resilient electrical system,” explained Boyd Kanchela from KNBC.. David Chanda, Stanbic Bank, Zambia states that the project brought 100 MW of power onto the grid, while Veronica Tembo, First Quantum Minerals (FQM), says FQM provided the offtake for the first-phase 100 MW solar project.

Energy investment therefore has both an economic and human dimension. Megawatts matter because of what reliable electricity allows people and businesses to do.

Diversification is becoming central to energy resilience

One of the clearest lessons from Zambia’s experience is the importance of diversification. Helen Lubamba, CIB CEO of Stanbic Bank Zambia says Zambia’s integrated resource plan envisages a more diversified generation mix incorporating hydro, solar and wind.

Where an electricity system depends heavily on one generation source, disruption to that source can spread through the wider economy. A more varied energy mix can form part of a broader resilience strategy.

Financing Africa’s energy future requires local understanding

Energy infrastructure depends not only on viable projects, but also on institutions willing and able to understand local markets.

Sherrill Byrne, Head Project Finance, Energy & Infrastructure, Standard Bank, captures the challenge directly: “It’s never easy doing project finance in Africa. We go and understand the market and we go canvass for opportunities, and we figure out how we can get more done for the betterment of the country.”

For Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), that local understanding sits alongside experience in bringing participants together and supporting the financing of African infrastructure. David Chanda says Stanbic Bank is positioned to support projects of this nature because of its experience in bringing projects through to completion.

African energy markets have different regulatory frameworks, generation mixes, resources and commercial realities. Solutions need to start with an understanding of each market and bring together the right participants around its specific needs.

From a Zambian response to an African opportunity

Zambia’s story began with a crisis, but its longer-term significance could lie in what happens next. Africa’s energy challenge will not have a single answer.

Zambia’s experience suggests an important starting point: collaboration across sectors, development of new generation and financing informed by local market realities.

When energy resilience improves, the opportunity extends beyond keeping the lights on. It can help create the conditions in which industries operate, businesses recover, communities participate and economies grow.