STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Malawi used to have one of the lowest electrification rates in the world, at just 11% in 2019.
- Thanks to the World Bank-backed Malawi Electricity Access Project (MEAP) and to Mission 300, that rate now stands at 25.9%, and should reach 70% by 2030.
- Electricity is bringing visible change to local economies, inspiring people to start their own businesses and helping women support their families.
A primary school teacher from Chiradzulu District, in southern Malawi, Bertha Macheso finished constructing her house in 2017. Together with her husband, she applied for an electricity connection. Then she waited. For years, the three-bedroom house along the road to Phalombe District remained unconnected. When her husband passed, she was left alone to complete the task. She was desperate.
At one time, the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi came and assessed my house. They brought the poles, I was excited, but after a few weeks, the poles were taken away. I was left with despair.
Bertha Macheso Primary school teacher, Chiradzulu District
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In April 2025, her house was finally connected to the national grid through the Malawi Electricity Access Project (MEAP), a $100 million initiative financed by the World Bank Group. The arrival of electricity gave her an idea, partly inspired by watching schoolchildren purchase fizzy cold drinks from a stand equipped with a cooler next to her house.
“I would like to build a shop along the road to run a small business including a grocery store, a barbershop, and phone charging facilities,” she explains. “It would help me generate additional money and support my kids.”
At the Mainala Trading Center, in the same district, the Mainala Building also benefitted from the MEAP Project. Its four rooms are now connected to the national grid and host various businesses, including a hardware store and a small supermarket selling fresh food. The building was connected in 2024, along with several houses and small businesses, bringing visible change to the local economy.
Electricity access in Malawi: a difficult path
In 2019, Malawi had one of the world’s lowest electrification rates, at just 11%, with stark disparities between urban areas (42%) and rural communities (4%). Many households used candles, kerosene, and firewood for lighting and cooking.
Because of high connection costs, limited grid infrastructure, and the financial constraints of the national utility, expanding access was a formidable challenge, particularly in the country’s predominantly rural and low-income population. Progress was slow until the MEAP was launched in 2019 to fast-track electrification and provide electricity access to 1.6 million people (8% of the population). A few years later, the World Bank started Mission 300, an initiative designed to connect 300 million people to energy access across Africa by 2030.
The MEAP expanded grid connections and scaled private-sector-led solar home systems across Malawi. In Malawi, thanks to the MEAP and Mission 300, two million people have gained access to electricity, with almost 30% of the new connections reaching female-headed households, advancing gender equity in energy access.
To make some quick wins, the project focused on connecting households already located near existing infrastructure through low-voltage extensions, service drops, and prepaid meters.
“The project lays a strong foundation for the World Bank Group’s Mission 300 by demonstrating the scale at which electricity access can be delivered in one of the world’s least-electrified countries,” said Om Bhandari, Senior Energy Specialist for Malawi. “By connecting nearly two million people to electricity, including through solar solutions, it contributes to both energy access and climate objectives, and offers a model for future programs under Mission 300.”
In many urban and rural areas, the new connections have enabled small-scale economic activity, including retail shops, phone-charging businesses, and food processing. These businesses are flourishing, creating jobs and livelihood opportunities, and offering people–particularly women–the promise of a better future.
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Toward universal access to electricity
MEAP drew to an end in 2025, but the World Bank Group continued to support Malawi’s electrification agenda through the ASCENT Program (Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation), a regional program focusing on expanding energy generation and cross-border integration to sustain the increased demand for new connections.
As of today, 25.9% of the Malawi population have access to electricity, with 11.3% connected through the national grid and 14.6% through off-grid solutions. Around 56.5% of urban households have electricity through the national grid, compared to 3.8% of rural households.
The Government of Malawi aims to increase electricity access to 70% by 2030 through Mission 300, which will require adding 1.2 million on-grid and 1.6 million off-grid connections.