The GGI Africa Working Group was established under the auspices of the African Union Commission in 2021, with the objective of facilitating complementary support towards the accelerated development of selected regional transmission projects that form part of the second phase of the Programme for Infrastructure Development Priority Action Plan (PIDA PAP 2). The process also contributes towards the Continental Power Master Plan (CMP). This is expected to lead to the following outcomes: 

• development of resilient transmission grids that enable the scale up of renewable energy generation across the African continent, and support progression to universal access to reliable, modern energy services. This also includes expanding digitalisation and harnessing new technologies to enhance power system flexibility;
• enhanced access to complementary financing, technical assistance and collaborative research and development (R&D) resources that facilitate the realisation of resilient transmission grids in shorter time frames than would otherwise be possible. This will be complemented by enabling regulatory frameworks; electricity trading arrangements and market designs; business models and associated financing instruments; as well as power system planning and operations approaches;
• sustained political and stakeholder support, notably through contributing to the AU’s continental and regional integration thrust and securing the support of key stakeholders

Through mobilising actors and capital to conduct a feasibility study for the ZiZaBoNa regional interconnection project, the GGI Africa Working Group has played an important role in developing an interconnector project capable of trade in energy among Zimbabwe, Zambia, northern Malawi and north-eastern Mozambique.