The Seventh Meeting of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Regional Committee for Africa opened in Accra on Wednesday with a call on African countries to scale up investments in solar energy to accelerate the continent’s energy transition and sustainable development.

The three-day meeting, attended by Ministers, development partners, private sector actors and international organisa­tions, is discussing strategies to expand energy access, promote solar innovation and strengthen climate-resilient growth.

Opening the meeting, the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, and Chair of the Regional Committee for Africa, Mr John Abdulai Jinapor, said expanding solar capacity was not only an environ­mental necessity but also a socio-eco­nomic opportunity to attract greater private capital,” he stated.

The Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All, Ms Damilola Ogunbiyi, said solar remained the least-cost and fastest path to expand energy access on the continent. She observed that while the average African consumed about 400 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, consumption in the United States stood at 13,000. She urged Afri­can governments to streamline licensing regimes and unlock tariffs to encourage private sector participation.

The Ambassador of France to Ghana, Mr Jules Armand Beaussieux, reaffirmed France’s support for renewable energy deployment in Africa, while the Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr Man­ish Gupta, said India’s “One Sun, One World, One Grid” initiative aligned with Africa’s energy transition ambitions.

The Director-General of the ISA, Mr Ashish Khanna, said access to energy was a fundamental human right. He ex­plained that ISA’s new strategy, “Moving from Ambition to Action”, sought to mobilise investment, innovate financing and build local capacity to support mem­ber countries.

Key announcements at the meeting included the signing of Country Part­nership Frameworks between Ghana, Nigeria and The Gambia to support solar rooftop systems, community mini-grids and agriculture-driven applications. ISA also signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the African School of Regulation to strengthen regulatory frameworks and knowledge exchange.

Additionally, ISA’s Africa Solar Facil­ity, managed by Africa50, was launched with $200 million in catalytic financing, expected to mobilise up to 20 times that amount in private capital. Nigeria’s Sovereign Investment Authority has committed up to $150 million to the initiative.

Addressing the gathering on behalf of President John Mahama, Mr Seth Terkper, Presidential Advisor, said Africa’s abundant solar resources offered an extraordinary opportunity to create jobs, improve energy access and foster economic growth.

“With nearly 60 per cent of the world’s best solar resources, Africa can leapfrog traditional energy pathways and emerge as a leader in distributed renew­able energy,” he stated.

The ISA, established in 2015 by India and France, currently has 124 member and signatory countries, including 39 from Africa. Its mission is to unlock investment in solar power and promote its use across agriculture, healthcare, transport and power generation to drive inclusive development and climate resilience.