BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY'S RELATIONSHIP WITH SDG 7 

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) possesses extraordinary renewable-energy potential, particularly through hydropower. Almost all of its electricity generation comes from hydropower, and the Congo River’s Inga site has an estimated hydropower potential of around 42 GW, making it one of the largest potential hydropower developments in the world. The Inga dams could eventually provide large quantities of low-carbon electricity both domestically and to neighbouring countries (International Energy Agency [IEA], 2019.; World Bank, 2025a). 

The DRC is also strategically important to the global clean-energy transition because of its enormous reserves and production of cobalt, a critical mineral used in many lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles. This creates a striking paradox: the country supplies critical resources for the global transition towards clean energy and possesses enormous renewable-electricity potential, yet only around 21% of its own population currently has access to electricity (IEA, n.d.; World Bank, 2025b). 

CURRENT CHALLENGES AND RECENT DEVELOPMENTS 

The principal challenge is therefore transforming the DRC’s natural-resource wealth into reliable electricity for its own population. Limited transmission and distribution infrastructure, insufficient investment and the difficulty of connecting dispersed rural communities prevent the country from fully exploiting its hydropower resources. Decentralised renewable systems, mini-grids and expanded electricity networks will be essential to complement large projects such as Inga and achieve broader electrification (IEA, 2019; World Bank, 2025a). 

Recent developments have renewed efforts to exploit this potential. In 2025, the World Bank approved the first USD 250 million phase of a planned USD 1 billion Inga 3 Development Program, while the DRC’s National Energy Compact aims to increase electricity access from around 21% to 62% by 2030. Developing Inga alongside domestic electricity infrastructure could therefore allow the DRC to power homes and industries, support lower-carbon cobalt production and become an important regional exporter of renewable electricity (World Bank, 2025b; IEA, 2019).

LIST OF REFERENCES

International Energy Agency. (2019). African Energy Outlook 2019: Overview Democratic Republic Congo. https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/1d996108-18cc-41d7-9da3-55496cec6310/AEO2019_DRCONGO.pdf

International Energy Agency. (n.d.). Democratic Republic of the Congo. Retrieved September 7, 2026, from https://www.iea.org/countries/democratic-republic-of-the-congo

World Bank. (2025a, June 3). Factsheet on World Bank Support for the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Inga Project. Retrieved September 7, 2026, from https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/factsheet/2024/10/09/questions-and-answers-on-world-bank-support-for-the-democratic-republic-of-congos-afe-drc-grand-inga-development-program

World Bank. (2025b, June 3). New Inga 3 Development Program to Start with Investments in Local Congolese Communities [Press release]. Retrieved September 7, 2026 from https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2025/06/03/new-inga-3-development-program-to-start-with-investments-in-local-afe-congolese-communities

International Renewable Energy Agency. (2025). Energy Profile: Democratic Republic of the Congo. https://www.irena.org/-/media/files/irena/agency/statistics/statistical_profiles/africa/democratic-republic-of-the-congo_africa_re_sp.pdf