Today Itron President and CEO Philip Mezey provided a guest blog post to The Hill Newspaper.

In his post, Mezey shares ways the Ex-Im Bank and similar development finance agencies support U.S. private investment that is a great aid to the African continent, which faces tremendous challenges as well as equally great promise.

"If there was ever a continent of contrasts, Africa is it. It boasts five of the world’s 12 fastest growing economies, but millions remain entrenched in poverty. Parts of the continent are rich in energy resources like oil and solar power, yet at least 550 million Africans – and two out of three sub-Saharan Africans – lack electricity.  According to the World Bank, if you exclude South Africa, the entire installed generation capacity of sub-Saharan Africa is just 28 Gigawatts, roughly equivalent to Argentina’s capacity. I believe that the way we manage energy infrastructure will define this century. With reliable electricity access, the United Nations’ Sustainable Energy for All initiative points out, “children can study after dark. Clinics can store life-saving vaccines. Countries can grow more resilient, competitive economies.”

To read the full article, click here.