Energy underpins economic growth globally regardless of the levels of development achieved this far. It is key to the production of food and water supply and other goods and services in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and globally. However, energy production and utilization and  the interdependent economic activities, Agriculture, Forestry and Other land Use, results in high GHG emissions. Using qualitative analysis, we evaluated the different primary energy sources within the energy supply chain network from generation, through its conversion to utilization to determine the energy efficiency and quantify the opportunity to mitigate these losses. We found that about 90% of the primary energy is lost through unsustainable conversion processes and only about 10% of the energy is utilized. Specifically, there is an opportunity for energy efficiency strategies to improve bioenergy capacity in SSA by about 40%on both the supply and demand side to reduce energy poverty and drive economic growth while transitioning to a low-carbon economy and climate-resilient energy sector, thereby enhancing sustainability and delivering universal and affordable energy access to all in SSA.