On 16 December 2025, the African Development Fund approved a $23.36 million grant to expand clean and reliable electricity in Bosaso, a port city in northeastern Somalia, aiming to reduce dependence on diesel power, lower electricity costs, and strengthen the country’s fragile energy institutions.
The funding, drawn from the African Development Fund and the Transition Support Facility, will finance new solar generation capacity, upgrades to the city’s power grid, modern metering systems, and off-grid solar home systems for households that have never had access to electricity, including displaced families.
At its core, the intervention responds to a simple but pressing problem: how people in one of Africa’s most energy-deprived countries can power their homes, businesses and public services in a way that is affordable, stable and sustainable.
Somalia’s electricity story has long been defined by scarcity and high costs. National access rates hover around 50 percent, placing the country among the lowest globally. In urban centres like Bosaso, where trade and fishing underpin local livelihoods, electricity is available but often unreliable and prohibitively expensive. Power tariffs in Somalia can exceed $0.80 per kilowatt-hour, several times higher than the average in East Africa, largely because generation relies on imported diesel.
Small businesses routinely run generators for hours each day, absorbing fuel costs that eat into already thin margins. Households ration electricity use, choosing between lighting, refrigeration and phone charging. In informal settlements and camps for internally displaced people, grid access is rare, and kerosene lamps and candles remain common, carrying risks of fire and respiratory illness.
The Bosaso project is designed to alter that reality incrementally but meaningfully. By adding solar generation and integrating battery storage, the city’s power system will reduce its reliance on diesel, stabilize supply and lower operating costs over time. Grid rehabilitation and expansion will allow electricity to reach neighbourhoods that are currently underserved, while smart meters will give consumers clearer information about their usage, helping them manage expenses in a context where energy costs dominate household budgets.
For families receiving solar home systems, the change is more immediate: basic lighting, phone charging and small appliances without monthly fuel purchases or grid connection fees.
Beyond Bosaso, the project reflects a broader shift in how energy access is being approached across Africa’s fragile and conflict-affected states. Traditional large-scale infrastructure has often been slow to materialize in such contexts, constrained by weak institutions and security risks. Decentralized solar, modular grids and targeted institutional support have emerged as more practical entry points.
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In countries like Sierra Leone and South Sudan, similar approaches have helped expand access in urban and peri-urban areas while laying the groundwork for stronger regulation and planning. Somalia’s energy sector, fragmented among private operators with limited oversight, stands to benefit from the project’s emphasis on institutional capacity, including training for public agencies responsible for planning and regulation.
The economic implications are tangible. In Bosaso’s markets, reliable power means fish traders can preserve catches longer, reducing spoilage and increasing incomes. Tailors, barbers and phone repairers can operate predictable hours without budgeting daily for generator fuel. Clinics and pharmacies can store medicines safely, and schools can extend learning beyond daylight hours.
During construction, the project is expected to generate short-term employment, while long-term operations and maintenance will require technicians, meter readers and system managers, skills that are scarce but increasingly valuable across the region’s growing renewable energy sector.
Environmental benefits, though less visible day to day, are significant. Diesel generators are a major source of urban air pollution in Somali cities, contributing to respiratory problems in densely populated areas. Replacing even part of that generation with solar power reduces local pollution and cuts carbon emissions.
While Somalia’s overall contribution to global emissions is negligible, its vulnerability to climate change is acute. Droughts, floods and rising temperatures have already displaced millions. Energy systems that are less dependent on imported fossil fuels and more resilient to supply shocks align with broader climate adaptation goals across the Horn of Africa.
The $23 million investment will not solve Somalia’s energy challenges on its own. National demand far exceeds current supply, and regulatory reform will take time. But the Bosaso project illustrates how targeted financing, aligned with renewable technologies and institutional support, can address immediate needs while pointing toward a more sustainable energy future.
For Africa as a whole, where more than 600 million people still lack electricity, the lesson is not only about technology but about context: solutions must fit local realities, balance affordability with sustainability, and strengthen the institutions that keep the lights on long after construction crews leave.
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