## Powering a Continent: Progress Towards africa’s Unified Electricity Market
Africa is poised to establish a groundbreaking, continent-wide energy market – the African Union’s Single Electricity Market (AfSEM) – representing one of the most enterprising infrastructure projects globally. However, realizing this transformative vision demands a deliberate and phased approach to progress. Recent analysis, including the 2025 State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report, pinpoints two crucial areas for immediate focus.
### Strengthening Regional Grids: Intra-Regional Integration
A essential step towards AfSEM is ensuring complete integration of every african nation into its respective regional power pool. Currently, access to electricity across the continent remains uneven. According to the International Energy Agency, over 600 million Africans lack access to electricity [[1]], hindering economic growth and social development. Fully connecting each country to a regional grid will not only expand access but also enhance energy security and reliability. This involves substantial investment in transmission infrastructure and collaborative agreements between nations.
Think of it like building a robust highway system within a country – each city (country) needs to be connected to the main network (regional power pool) for efficient movement of goods (electricity).
### Connecting the Regions: Inter-Regional Connectivity
Beyond strengthening individual regional networks, the ultimate goal is to interconnect Africa’s five existing power pools.This