Making Côte d’Ivoire’s Universal Electricity Access Ambition a Reality
Mamadou’s Auto Repair Shop Electrified
Mamadou Cissé moved to Bassam, a town on the outskirts of Côte d’Ivoire’s capital city Abidjan, as a child with his family. His father opened a modest bicycle repair shop to earn a living. As a young child, Mamadou watched his father work on bicycles and often helped out. At the tender age of ten, Mamadou had to take over his father’s shop after he passed away. As the years went by, Mamadou expanded his offering to include motorbike repairs as well.
In 2014, the Government of Côte d’Ivoire launched its Electricity for All Program (Programme Electricité Pour Tous in French) with ambitions to connect 100 percent of the country’s households to the national grid by 2025. The program targets first-time connections with variable fee structures based on factors such as dwelling type and region to determine a participant’s eligibility for one of ten possible connection packages. For example, depending on the connection package, a connection fee repayment period can range from two to ten years. Côte d’Ivoire’s access to electricity rate is over 70 percent.
Power Africa has been partnering with the country’s national utility, Compagnie Ivoirienne d’Electricité since 2020 to connect more households and businesses to the grid, offering more reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity solutions to economically marginalized communities.
In the past, Mamadou used a diesel generator to operate his machinery and to keep his lights on after dark. It was expensive, noisy, and cumbersome. His neighbors didn’t want him running a loud generator at night and disturbing them, so he would have to shut his shop after dark. Mamadou didn’t like using an expensive diesel generator either but he wanted electricity and didn’t have another option. When Mamadou traveled to neighboring Ghana, he saw digital meters that connected small shops and homes similar to his own. It got him interested in exploring a similar option in Bassam.
When Mamadou saw a national utility company, Compagnie Ivoirienne d’Electricité (CIE)’s advertisement about prepaid electricity meters, he applied immediately. That was about two and half years ago. Mamadou is very pleased with his electricity connection. He loads 2,000 West African francs (about 3.5 USD) on his account that gets him through a month’s worth of electricity. He used to spend five times as much on his diesel generator a month. He is significantly happier about the reliability of his connection. He’s able to work longer hours, well into the night to meet customer’s quick turnaround needs which has been good for his business. But the biggest impact has been his ability to set aside money in his savings bank account since he switched over from the generator to his prepaid electricity connection.
Mamadou’s is one of nearly 1.8 million connections the Electricity for All Program has added since its rollout, representing 29 percent of all new connections across the country. In 2023, CIE and Power Africa measured the progress and assessed the impact of the program across Côte d’Ivoire. All of the 2,500 households and 1,000 small businesses surveyed, indicated significant improvements in their livelihoods. The survey results showed that the program has strengthened local economies. One in six surveyed households reported starting up at least one small business due to increased power access through the program. Beyond the impact at the community level, the program has benefitted Côte d’Ivoire’s national economy. Based on data collected, Power Africa estimates that by 2035, the program’s indirect benefits will increase the net present value of Côte d’Ivoire’s GDP by 1,082 billion West African francs (1.8 million USD) and create 16,000 new jobs.
Mamadou wants the Energy for All Program to cover every village and town in Côte d’Ivoire. “I want people across the country to feel the joy I feel. I want everyone to be able to save money like me,” says a satisfied program customer, Mamadou.
