The World Bank estimates that around 600 million people in Africa do not currently have access to reliable electricity, a key factor hampering job creation and economic development on the continent.
To meet its new objective to alleviate poverty on a "livable planet," Ajay Banga said the World Bank must find ways to connect more people to a greener energy grid.
Electricity "should be for everyone," he told a meeting of the International Development Association (IDA) -- the bank's concessional lender to some of the world's poorest countries -- in Zanzibar, Tanzania, on Wednesday.
"With $5 billion from IDA, we are on a mission to deliver reliable, affordable, renewable electricity to 100 million Africans before 2030," he said.
Alongside the commitment from IDA, the World Bank is looking to bring in an additional $10 billion in private and public funding to aid the project, he added.
The plan will look to modernize existing grids, build out solar power, improve reliability and boost cross-border trade in energy, he explained.
"We must find a way to finance a different world, where climate is protected and poverty is defeated," he said.
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