More than $1b in debt and financing commitments from US agencies and private investors under Africa energy initiative, Power Africa, have been finalized, Reuters reported.

Three years after the launch of Power Africa, the US is on track to fulfill its initial $7 billion commitment over five years, and several departments and agencies have announced that they’ve expanded Power Africa commitments, according to All Africa. The initial $7b pledge has mobilized more than $52b in additional external commitments, including more than $40b from the private sector to invest in power generation and distribution.

USAID Chief, Gayle Smith, said that the latest deals were finalized around a US-Africa business forum on the sidelines of annual UN meetings in New York mid-September. Smith added the deals covered funding for regional infrastructure facilities, risk insurance and renewable power projects in Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Tanzania.

Power Africa is tracking more than 500 deals across the continent to install 10,000MW of new generation capacity, connect 20m new customers, and improve electric reliability across the Sub-Saharan Africa.