The 10^th   Powering Africa Summit: 6 – 7 March 2025, Washington D.C.

1. The 10^th Powering Africa Summit was held in Washington D.C. on 6 and 7 March 2025. The Summit convened its 10^th anniversary which celebrated the U.S. – Africa Energy Partnership. The Summit was organized under the theme ‘‘the Future of the U.S. and Africa Energy Partnership”.  The event brought together from the U.S. side, Government stakeholders, institutional investors, private financiers, service and technology providers, and their African partners, including African Ministers and other governments officials as well as African energy institutions. Over 30 African countries were represented during the Summit.

2. Zimbabwe’s delegation was co-led by the Minister of Energy and Power Development, Hon. July Moyo (MP), and the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Hon. M. Ncube (MP), and included officials from the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) and the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA).

3. The Summit’s Guest of Honor was the U.S. Secretary for Energy, Mr. Chris Wright. In presenting his keynote address, the Secretary for Energy called for mutually beneficial collaborations between the United States and Africa. He emphasized that such a partnership should be based on what Africa wants not the U.S. dictating what Africa must do. In a major policy shift Secretary Wright criticized energy policies that stifled Africa’s economic development. He stressed that the U.S. could be a useful partner in providing technology and capital for the development of desired energy projects in Africa. He urged African countries to fully utilize their resource endowments, including fossil fuels, to transform the lives of their people.

4. Hon. J. Moyo (MP), the Minister of Energy and Power Development spoke on the top Zimbabwean priorities in the energy sector which shape the investment opportunities as follows:
   • Ensuring that energy supply outstrips demand.
   • Energy supply is directed to the Minerals Beneficiation value chain.
   • Enhanced battery manufacturing for boosting energy storage and balance.

5. Hon. Moyo highlighted Zimbabwe’s huge resource endowment in coal, coal bed methane and solar energy, among others.

6. Complementing the presentation, Hon. M. Ncube Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion presented a package of measures and incentives the Ministry of Finance has unveiled in support of the development of the energy projects in Zimbabwe. Some of these incentives include the following, among others:
   • Granting of National Project Status to energy projects;
   • Attractive economic tariffs are as high as 0.16c per kilowatt; and
   • Provision of government guarantee

7. The Minister further urged American investors to come and take advantage of these incentives framework and invest in Zimbabwe’s energy sector.