Energy Infrastructure offers some of the biggest potential business opportunities on the planet. A report published in October by the International Energy Agency predicted that half of Africa’s new power generation capacity added until 2040 will be green energy. The potential for renewable energy development in Africa has attracted growing attention lately, as investors and world leaders seek a new clean energy frontier. The continent could become a gold mine for renewable energy thanks to its abundant solar and wind resources, but roadblocks to clean energy which exist worldwide are amplified throughout the troubled regions of Africa - financial resources are thin and infrastructure is often unreliable.

In September 2015, world leaders formally adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 associated targets which are aimed at stimulating action over the next 15 years in areas of critical importance for a more equitable and sustainable world. The strong linkages between the SDGs underlines the notion that progress on each goal will be critical for progress on others, with increasing understanding for the implementation of the SDGs through an integrated framework that demands close collaboration at all levels of governance. As a result, the water-energy-food nexus has emerged as a crucial policy and governance approach for integrated planning and implementation of the SDGs.