| Welcome to Next Africa, a twice-weekly newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it's headed. Sign up here to have it delivered to your email. One of the biggest obstacles to economic development in Africa is the lack of access to electricity: $90 billion should help fix that. Some of the world's biggest climate organizations, including The Rockefeller Foundation, announced on Friday a technical-assistance facility that will prepare renewable energy projects for investment to boost access to power across the continent.  Diesel generators at a market in Lagos, Nigeria. Photographer: Benson Ibeabuchi/Bloomberg Effectively they've fired the starting gun on a plan, backed by an initial pledge of $30 billion from the World Bank and African Development Bank, to bring electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030. Ultimately they hope to at least triple the investment by roping in philanthropies and the private sector. If successful, the so-called Mission 300 will halve the number of people who have no access to power in a continent that accounts for four-fifths of those globally who live without electricity. The lack of energy limits productivity and hampers economic growth in some of the poorest nations on earth.  WATCH: Bloomberg TV's Jennifer Zabasajja interviews the head of the Rockefeller Foundation's power and climate program. For a decade there's been little progress, with only one in 12 people in South Sudan having access to power and many countries languishing with electrification rates of less than 30%. The next step is a plea for funding at a World Bank meeting in South Korea in December and a January summit on the program in Dar es Salaam. Mission 300 may be ambitious but it's not before time. As Ashvin Dayal, head of the power and climate program at the Rockefeller Foundation, told Bloomberg TV: "Every day that a community is unelectrified, or a household is unelectrified, is a lost opportunity." The project has had its predecessors and will likely face challenges, but its success can transform the futures for millions of people. — Antony Sguazzin Key stories and opinion:
A $90 Billion World Bank Plan to Electrify Africa Gets Underway
US Nonprofit Plans $250 Million Africa Fund For Solar Firms
Biggest Mini-Grid Owner in Africa, Asia Sets $500 Million Target
Startup Plans $300 Million of Mini-Grids in Power-Poor Congo
Zambian Copper Mines Desperate for Power Find an Unlikely Savior The worst floods in decades across a swath of West and central Africa are deepening record food insecurity in a region where the United Nations says 55 million people are already going hungry. Heavy rains, which are forecast to persist, have inundated hundreds of thousands of hectares of freshly planted fields and driven people from their homes in at least 14 nations. Severe rains also bucketed down on central Europe, Shanghai and the US Carolinas this week, underscoring the extreme ways in which climate change is altering the weather across the globe.  A former US Internal Revenue Service Agent has been jailed in Nigeria on charges of money laundering and operating an unlicensed financial institution. For more than six months, Tigran Gambaryan has been caught up in a tussle between the African nation's government and his employer, Binance. The cryptocurrency giant, which allows millions of users worldwide to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, is being closely watched by states around the world after it last year pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the US and agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines. Mozambique's presidential candidates are advocating for the nation to renegotiate contracts for its so-called mega-projects with developers, a stance that may risk delays to the construction of massive liquefied natural gas facilities by TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil. That's sparked a national debate about whether the southern African nation benefits enough from deals with multinational investors ahead of Oct. 9 elections.  A shoe seller in front of election posters in Mozambique's capital, Maputo. Photographer: Alfredo Zuniga/AFP/Getty Images Zimbabwe's stocks are on a tear as investors seek refuge from the ZiG, the new bullion-backed currency that's at a record low against the US dollar. Equity traders are worried, though, viewing the stock surge as a return to the volatility of the past and a reflection of deep-seated trouble in the currency markets. A plunge in the Zimbabwean dollar, the unit's predecessor, caused investors to pile into stocks as a safe haven and hedge against surging inflation, leading to a more than fourfold increase in the benchmark stock index. African health-care workers fighting the rapid spread of a virulent mpox strain will learn how to effectively scratch under layers of children's skin to induce an immune response, a method not widely used in inoculation rollouts for decades. The training is required after Japan agreed to provide the single largest vaccine donation of 3 million doses — along with specialized inoculation needles — to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the epicenter of multiple outbreaks of the disease.  A patient with mpox awaits treatment at the Kavumu hospital in South Kivu, Congo. Photographer: Arlette Bashizi/Bloomberg Gold-rich Sudan discussed boosting cooperation in the mining sector with Russia, as Moscow strengthens ties with the country's military-led government amid a 17-month civil war. A Sudanese army official in May suggested his side might get weapons in exchange for letting the Kremlin establish a logistical support center on its coast, although no formal deal has been signed. Next Africa Quiz — Which African country plans to proceed with a rare elephant cull, targeting 200 of the animals to help feed people affected by drought? Send your answers to gbell16@bloomberg.net. Data Watch - South Africa's central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 8% while Angola's monetary policy committee left its key rate unchanged at 19.5%. Mauritius followed the US Federal Reserve's example and cut its rate by half a percentage point to 4%.
- Ghana's economy expanded 6.9% in the second quarter — the fastest pace in five years.
- Nigeria's annual inflation rate fell to a six-month low in August, offering policymakers a window to halt an unprecedented tightening cycle when they meet next week.
Coming Up - Sept. 24 Interest-rate decisions for Nigeria, Morocco and Lesotho
- Sept. 25 South African central bank's leading economic indicator
- Sept. 26 Sierra Leone interest-rate decision, Zambia GDP data for the second quarter, consumer inflation for September & trade balance for July, South Africa producer inflation for August & non-farm payrolls for the second quarter
- Sept. 27 Botswana second-quarter GDP, Zambia budget
 On this episode of the Next Africa podcast, reporter Mumbi Gitau joins Jennifer Zabasajja to explain what's behind rising coffee prices, and why it's not all good news for the region's farmers. | 
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