 Hello! Welcome to Semafor Africa, where we’re as receptive to good news as anyone. One country that we’ve talked about recently that’s on a good news run is South Africa. It is extending the afterglow of its Government of National Unity after the May elections. While the narrative is often centered around the political situation being resolved somewhat amicably, one important part of the ‘good news’ story seems to be about how the country appears to have fixed a half a decade or more of power shortages, aka load shedding. On Monday, I attended a South Africa Tomorrow day in New York where some of the country’s government leaders and captains of industry presented to investors about South Africa’s current economic trajectory. Much time was spent talking about how the electricity challenge had been addressed, alongside assurances that it was not a temporary solution, and insights on the long-term vision for the country’s energy opportunities. Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramakgopa said the country is trying to raise $23 billion to build another 14,000 miles of transmission lines for its grid. It was a reminder of the key role of energy in the continent’s development story and the important role of financing. But, as our chart below shows, the average cost of capital for energy projects in African subregions remains way too high. | 
