the promotion of harvest to create bioethanol are underway, the South African Bureau of Standards is developing pricing models to enable economic growth. “The World Bank and the International Finance Corporation will expand existing programs such as Lighting Africa, which develops off-grid lighting markets, to provide affordable lighting to 70 million low-income households by 2020, as well as undertake new initiatives with the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program, such as mapping of renewable energy resources”. The Global Ministerial Environment Forum in Nairobi, Kenya was broadcast throughout Africa, and comprised a panel of energy experts who discussed the successes achieved in energy in Africa so far, lessons learned from implementations, and future projections for energy. Moreover, the United Nations Development Program and UN Capital Development Fund recently initiated a global Clean Start program, which will enable millions of impoverished people both in Africa and in Asia to shift out of energy poverty by creating microfinance opportunities to encourage poorer individuals to purchase and utilize electricity. Twenty-five countries in Africa have joined this global task: Botswana, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Future development A sample of current investments The World Bank operates a portfolio of 48 Sub-Saharan Africa energy projects with over US$3 billion in investment. Individual governments as well as private entities also contribute to overall energy projects. China and India have recently emerged as large players in the space, committing US$2 billion annually to new development projects. China focused specifically on 10 large hydropower projects, which combined are expected to produce another 6,000 MW of electrical energy. This is estimated to increase the hydroelectric capabilities of Sub-Saharan Africa by 30%. Another project currently undergoing feasibility exploration would install hydroelectric facilities on the Zambezi river, potentially generating 2,000–2,500 MW. Smaller scale projects also receive funding, such as efforts to distribute safe cookstoves and efficient kilns to lower the effects of biomass, initiatives to improve lighting efficiency, or smaller scale microgrid electrical distributions. Regional pools One characterizing feature of the electrical grid in Africa is its isolation. The formation of regional energy trading pools would help stabilize energy markets, but would require building out a transmission line infrastructure between countries. Installing those resources would be expected to require ~US$19 billion in investment.