Africa is home to more than 600 million people without access to reliable electricity, yet it accounts for just 2 percent of global clean energy investment. At the same time, the continent will require an estimated $133 billion annually in clean energy funding by 2030 to meet its development and climate objectives.
With development finance from the United States, Europe, and China increasingly constrained, the report positions Gulf countries as uniquely placed to help bridge the widening funding gap.
“Africa has the resources and the ambition to meet its energy needs, but what it lacks is patient capital willing to take on the required risks,” said David Yellen, director of climate policy innovation at CATF and a co-author of the report.
He noted that the UAE and Saudi Arabia are demonstrating an alternative investment model focused on partnership and market creation, rather than debt-heavy lending.
Crucially, much of this capital has been structured as direct project investment rather than sovereign loans, reducing pressure on public debt while enabling larger and faster-moving infrastructure projects.
The UAE has expanded its footprint through institutions such as Masdar and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, backing solar, wind, geothermal, and green hydrogen projects across North, East, and Southern Africa.
However, the report warns that current investment patterns risk reinforcing existing inequalities.
“Most capital continues to flow to a small group of relatively well capitalised countries, while nations with the greatest energy access gaps remain underserved,” said Nada Hamade, a co-author of the report. She added that Gulf investors have an opportunity to diversify both the geographic and structural composition of their investments.
Beyond renewable generation, CATF highlights opportunities in electricity transmission and grid infrastructure, clean firm power such as geothermal and nuclear energy, and system-level investments that link energy supply to new industrial demand, including data centres.
The report also identifies methane abatement and critical minerals as areas where Gulf expertise could deliver rapid climate benefits alongside economic returns.
By adopting longer-term risk horizons, investing in enabling infrastructure, and aligning projects with national development priorities, the report concludes that Gulf countries could reshape global development finance, unlock energy access at scale, and accelerate a more durable and inclusive clean energy transition across Africa.
