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Abstract. Africa, is resource rich, but energy deficient. Progress for the continent depends so crucially on the availability of energy, for education, industrialization, commerce and general well-being. Energy availability per head on the continent is 1000 kWh/capita and this definitely lacks behind the global high of 2674 kWh/capita. In Africa, variations exist from 91 kWh/capita in the least energy deficient countries to 2061 kWh/capita in energy rich countries. To improve this situation, formidable obstacles posed by technology, inadequate funding, lack of enabling policies, and small and scattered energy markets, have to be overcome. More attention needs to be placed on the exploitation of renewable energy resources. The most promising are solar, hydroelectricity, wind, bioenergy and geothermal energies. The sun is the continent‘s most promising major future energy source and 90 GW of solar power and 100 GW each of hydroelectrity and wind power could be running in Africa‘s grids by 2030. Renewable energy holds the greatest potential as energy form that Africa can depend on to meet her needs. However, accessing this requires significant foreign and local capital investment in technologies, formulating enabling policies for its exploitation and the development of economically viable energy markets in the continent.