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African countries face in their great majority, a garish energy deficit. Without energy, the challenge of development is difficult to accept as experts agree on that at the end of the first International Forum of electricity (FINELEC) in Africa, hosted by Cameroon.
The rate of access to electricity remains low overall for the African continent, since around 40% on average, with often some critical situations, where the coverage is below 20% in some countries. However, it should make a distinction between North Africa, South Africa where the supply for electricity is high, and other African countries, especially those of Central, Eastern and West regions, where access to electricity remains very marginal.

Taking only the case of the DRC and Cameroon, which concentrate the largest hydropower potential in Africa, we realize that in addition to this invaluable subject, these countries which have significant wind resources, solar resources and biomass, fail to actually supply electricity to their populations, with less than 50% of the population having access to electricity. This acute shortage of electricity hinders economic development, and quite regularly, the business community, including inter Employers Group of Cameroon (GICAM) attributed the poor performance of the industrial grid of the country to the insufficient rationing of electricity.
Taking just the case of the DRC and Cameroon, which concentrate the largest hydropower potential in Africa, we realize that these countries can not supply electricity to their populations, with less than 50% of people having access to electricity.

Currently, only 5% of the hydropower potential is exploited, while the other resources like solar energy, potentially abundant in the country, wind or biomass barely know the start of exploitation.

More than 600 billion dollars investment
Under the theme "Facing the challenges of access to electricity in Africa", the first International Forum of electricity (FINELEC) which ended on April 1st, 2011 in Yaoundé, showed the long road still ahead in order to provide suitable answers to energy problems plaguing the African continent.
An improved supply of electricity requires effective and appropriate measures to improve production, but also and above all, the mobilization of substantial financial means to carry out the necessary investments to meet demand.
Reliable studies indicate that it takes at least 600 billion dollars, or approximately 300.000 billion FCFA to cover the energy needs in Central Africa. This figure is to be multiplied by three or four to get an idea of the huge investments involved in this production sector. The electricity needs in Central Africa is estimated at 13,000 megawatts per year. A figure still far from being reached, since Cameroon who is a leader in this field in the sub region, is struggling to produce 1,000 megawatts. Thus only 3% to 35% of the 40 million inhabitants of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) have access to electricity.
In sub-Saharan Africa, 32 countries out of 48 suffer from an acute lack of electricity the situation is even nearly catastrophic in some countries like Nigeria, where authorities have opted for a rationalization of electricity known under the technical term "outages" to power the country. Some cities and regions are entitled to only three, four or five hours of electricity per day, without forgetting the other cuts, both long and intermittent, which is a huge shortfall for the industrial grid and yet dynamic developed enough in this country. In such a difficult environment, we understand why experts were formal: Africa can't meet the challenge of developing energy assets without having to respond to the needs of industrialization. Yet, while the Northern countries use nuclear power to solve energy problems with consequences that we know in Japan or Russia, Africa has the advantage of natural resources to be developed in order to ensure a better use.

South Africa and Morocco as an example

In a continent where the energy battle is far from won, some countries, we can count on the fingers take their head out of water. This is the case of South Africa and Morocco where the level of electric coverage is impressive. On an installed capacity of 70 gigawatts (GW) across the continent, South Africa has only for itself 40 gigawatts, for a national coverage rate of 100% for the first industrial and economic power of Africa. For its part, Morocco has also experienced dramatic changes in access to energy, the Cherifian kingdom is raising from 18% coverage of electricity a few years ago, to 97% currently. A success after Khalil El Guermaï the Chief of the National Federation of electricity, electronics and renewable energy (FENELEC) which reflects a healthy business environment, a complementarity between the public and the private sector, and most importantly, the reforms in this production sector which has a good mix between the know-how of domestic firms and the multinational expertise.
Achille Mbog Pibasso, Douala