NEWS

Burundi has signed a $1.4 billion, 25-year public-private partnership with Weza Power to expand and operate its electricity distribution network, targeting new or improved access for approximately 8 million people by 2030 in one of Africa’s least electrified countries. The agreement places private investment and development finance at the centre of the country’s effort to extend grid connections to households and businesses while supporting economic growth.

Signed in October 2026, the agreement provides for the construction or upgrading of 52,000 kilometres of distribution lines and more than 1.2 million new household and business connections. Weza Power, developed by Anzana Electric Group, will manage distribution across roughly half the country, while the state-owned utility REGIDESO will retain responsibility for the remaining distribution area and the national electricity transmission network. Gridworks, an investor in Anzana and a subsidiary of British International Investment, is supporting the project.

The scale of the planned expansion reflects Burundi’s longstanding electricity access gap. Gridworks puts current national access at around 15%, with rural access particularly limited. Other estimates cited in reporting vary according to the data source and the definition of access used. Under the new partnership, the government and its private-sector partners aim to raise electricity access to more than 50% by 2030, although achieving that target will depend on construction, financing, generation availability and the affordability of connections for households and businesses.

The distribution focus is significant because expanding electricity generation alone does not guarantee that power reaches consumers. New and existing generation must be connected to a functioning network, with sufficient lines, transformers, metering systems and local connections to deliver electricity reliably. In Burundi, the proposed 52,000 kilometres of new and upgraded distribution infrastructure is intended to address this last-mile challenge by bringing the network closer to underserved communities.

Under the agreed structure, Weza Power will invest in and operate the distribution network within its concession area. REGIDESO will continue to supply electricity through the national transmission network and manage distribution in the other part of the country. This division creates a new operating model for the sector, while requiring coordination between the private concessionaire and the public utility on power supply, network planning, technical standards and service quality.

The agreement is backed by a blended-finance structure designed to combine commercial investment with concessional capital and development finance. Partners associated with the programme include the World Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the US International Development Finance Corporation and other development partners. The structure is intended to reduce investment risks and help mobilise the capital required for a project whose scale would be difficult to finance through private equity alone.