Côte d’Ivoire gets $300m US grant for power grid
Côte d’Ivoire has ratified a $300 million grant from the United States through the Millennium Challenge Corporation to strengthen its electricity grid.
Côte d’Ivoire has ratified a $300 million (171.65 billion CFA francs) grant from the United States through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to strengthen its electricity grid and support the West African regional power market. The agreement, approved by the Council of Ministers on August 5, will fund the second phase of the West African Electricity Exchange System and modernise Côte d’Ivoire’s national transmission network.
The deal comes despite the Trump administration’s efforts to cut MCC programmes and follows the successful completion of Côte d’Ivoire’s first $536.7 million compact in August 2025. Côte d’Ivoire has the third-largest electricity system in West Africa and supplies power to six neighbouring countries, including Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali. The new funding is expected to improve electricity transmission and strengthen Côte d’Ivoire’s role as a regional power hub.
The Nigerian stake is clear. Côte d’Ivoire’s success in securing US funding for its electricity grid is a reminder that Nigeria is losing the competition for development assistance. The country’s electricity sector has struggled to attract investment, and the Ivorian example offers lessons.
From a Nigerian vantage point, the Ivorian compact is a model and a warning. The model: a country successfully implementing an MCC compact. The warning: Nigeria has failed to meet the MCC’s eligibility criteria for a compact, missing out on significant development funding.
This echoes the 2010s MCC compacts in West Africa, which also saw countries receive significant funding for infrastructure. The mechanism then was different, but the result was the same: a focus on development assistance.
The winners: Côte d’Ivoire, which has secured funding for its electricity grid; and the Ivorian economy, which benefits from improved infrastructure. The losers: Nigeria, which has missed out on MCC funding; and the Nigerian government, which must address the eligibility criteria.
Bottom Line: Côte d’Ivoire has secured a $300 million US grant for its power grid. Nigeria is watching. The question is whether Nigeria will meet the MCC’s criteria or continue to miss out.