2026 Programme

09:00 Opening Remarks

09:10 Keynote Address

09:25 Keynote Address

10:00 Debate: Redefining Partnership

New economic centres are emerging, new partnerships are forming, the world trade map is being redrawn - and Africa is at the centre of it. The continent is rapidly becoming pivotal to the foreign engagement strategies of major powers and emerging markets alike, and it knows it.

For too long, the conversation has been shaped by what the world wants from Africa; that framing is being rejected. African governments and businesses are increasingly setting the terms of engagement - and the organisations that understand this shift earliest will be best positioned to act on it. This opening session asks the question that defines everything that follows: not what Africa can offer the world, but what Africa now expects in return.

What this session tackles:

• What does meaningful partnership with Africa actually look like now?

• How are African governments and businesses setting the terms of engagement?

• What are the implications of increasing global instability and conflict?

• What does this mean for companies and investors trying to engage with the continent today?

10:45 Spotlight: Navigating a New Trade Paradigm

Global trade is becoming more volatile, fragmented, and politically driven. US tariffs have hit 20 African countries, long-standing agreements like AGOA can no longer be relied on, and the disruption has forced some nations into economic crisis.

For Africa, this has accelerated a critical shift: reducing dependence on external partners and building stronger trade systems from within. AfCFTA  - with 49 countries already signed up  - sits at the centre of that response. At the same time, new partnerships are emerging with China, the Gulf, and Europe that signal a move toward more value-added collaboration. The question is how Africa turns global disruption into structural opportunity.

What this session tackles:

• How does global instability impact existing trade agreements and what are the implications for investment and trade on the continent?

• How do African economies adapt trade strategy in response to global disruption?

• What does AfCFTA unlock in practical terms  - and where are the real opportunities emerging?

• How are trade routes and partnerships shifting across Africa, China, the Gulf, Europe and beyond?

• What does this mean for organisations rethinking supply chains, market entry, and regional strategy?

11:15 Break

11:30 Debate: Building a New Financing Pact with Africa

The global financial architecture is under pressure - and for Africa, it has never worked as intended. Despite representing 20% of the world's population, African countries receive less than 3% of global capital flows, while facing borrowing costs hundreds of basis points higher than developed markets. The institutions that have governed global finance for nearly 80 years are increasingly seen as outdated and misaligned with today's realities.

New players are emerging - regional development banks, the New Development Bank, new multilateral frameworks - and calls for fundamental reform are growing louder. For African economies, this is a genuine moment of leverage: not just to access more capital, but to help shape a system that better reflects their priorities. For the financiers, investors, and institutions in this room, understanding where that system is heading - and who is writing the new rules - is not optional. It is the difference between being ahead of the shift or behind it.

What this session tackles:

• How is the global financial architecture failing Africa and what needs to change to meet the continent's priorities and needs?

• Why does Africa have such a risk premium attached to it when it comes to the cost of capital?

• Which new financial players and structures are gaining real traction - and where are they changing how deals get done?

• Which models are most effective at unlocking capital at scale?

• What does a financing model look like that aligns with Africa's priorities - and what does that mean for how global partners engage?

12:15 Debate: Winning the Critical Minerals Race

Africa holds around 30% of the world's mineral reserves, including the majority of inputs needed for the global energy transition. Demand is surging and capital is already moving - from the US, EU, China, and others - all competing to secure supply chains and lock in access.

But this is not just a supply story. Across the continent, governments are moving to capture more value locally: from raw extraction to processing, manufacturing, and participation in the full value chain. Africa is no longer willing to export value and import finished goods - and the terms of the minerals race are shifting accordingly.

What this session tackles:

• Who controls access to critical minerals - and how are those terms shifting as competition intensifies?

• Where is value already being captured beyond extraction - and what is enabling that shift?

• Which parts of the value chain are actually investable now?

• How are global players (US, EU, China and others) repositioning - and what does that mean for partnership dynamics?

• What does it take to build mineral supply chains that create long-term value within Africa?

13:00 Lunch

14:00 Redefining African Agriculture

Africa's agricultural sector is being repriced - not just in financial terms, but in terms of power, ownership, and who captures the value. The continent holds some of the world's most significant agricultural potential, yet too often the majority of value has been extracted elsewhere, through global supply chains, processing, and distribution networks that sit outside the continent.

That is changing. Capital, technology, and new partnership models are reshaping how agribusiness operates - and African institutions are increasingly driving that agenda rather than responding to it. The opportunity for investors and partners who move with that shift is significant. This session examines what is working, where the constraints remain, and what it will take to build agricultural systems that create lasting value on the continent.

What this session tackles:

• What needs to happen to transform Africa's food systems?

• What models are working in scaling agribusiness - and where are the constraints?

• How can local and global capital be leveraged to support African-led growth strategies?

• What does it take to build agricultural systems that create long-term value within Africa?

14:30 Debate: Redefining the Energy Transition

African economies are facing an energy transition paradox. The continent holds vast renewable potential and many of the critical minerals the world needs to power green growth - yet some 600 million Africans still lack access to reliable electricity. Demand is projected to triple by 2040, and an estimated $22.4bn in investment is needed by that point, primarily for renewables. The financing gap is real and growing.

The stakes couldn't be higher: how Africa navigates this transition will determine whether global climate goals and the continent's own development needs can be met simultaneously - and whether the investment community rises to meet a challenge that is as commercially significant as it is consequential.

What this session tackles:

• How does Africa balance expanding energy access at home with rising global demand for clean energy?

• What role should gas, renewables, and hybrid models play in a transition that reflects Africa's realities?

• Where is the financing gap most acute - and what is preventing capital from flowing at the scale required?

• What models are emerging to mobilise investment, from blended finance to carbon markets  - and where are the limitations?

• What does a transition look like that delivers both global climate goals and meaningful economic development for Africa?

15:15 Debate: Redefining Development Finance

The scale of Africa's financing needs is growing - and the gap is widening. The continent faces an infrastructure financing gap of up to $108bn annually, while traditional sources of development finance are under unprecedented pressure. Aid budgets are tightening, debt burdens are rising, and in 2023 Africa attracted just $29bn in foreign direct investment - concentrated in a handful of markets and sectors.

Something has to give. Development finance institutions are evolving - blended finance, local currency lending, new attempts to crowd in private capital. But the question is whether incremental adaptation is enough, or whether what's actually needed is a fundamental rethink of how capital reaches the continent and on whose terms.

What this session tackles:

• How is the role of African and global Development Finance Institutions evolving amid global uncertainty and disruption?

• How do you leverage development finance to capitalise private sector investment?

• Which financing models are the most effective to deliver impact, and where are the gaps?

• How can public, private, and blended finance be structured to unlock significantly more investment?

15:45 Break

16:00 Debate: The Next Phase of Africa's Digital Transformation

Africa's digital transformation has already delivered one of the great economic leapfrogs of the past two decades. Mobile penetration exceeds 80%, sub-Saharan Africa accounts for nearly half of the world's mobile money accounts, and a thriving digital economy now spans payments, lending, e-commerce, healthtech, and enterprise software. The continent has proven it can build world-class innovation on its own terms.

AI represents both the greatest opportunity to extend that lead - and the most serious risk of losing it. It is moving faster than any previous technology wave, with higher barriers to entry, and it will define economic competitiveness for decades. Africa has leapfrogged before. Whether it can do so again, at this speed and at this scale, is one of the most consequential questions facing the continent right now.

What this session tackles:

• What is the next phase of Africa's digital transformation and how can the continent compete in the AI race?

• Where do the biggest gaps remain in infrastructure, skills, and data - and how are they being addressed?

• How can digital systems accelerate continental integration - from payments to platforms?

• What does it take to build a digital economy that is both globally competitive and locally anchored?

16:45 Fireside Chat: Capital Markets in a World in Transition

African capital markets are growing - but remain underpowered relative to the scale of opportunity. Many markets still lack depth, liquidity, and strong integration with global capital flows, while investment remains concentrated and uneven across the continent.

London has long played a central role as a gateway for African companies accessing international capital. But that role is actively being renegotiated -  as African markets deepen, new capital routes emerge, and geopolitics reshapes where money flows. This session examines what that shift means for the future of the relationship: where it creates new opportunities, where it creates new competition, and what it will take to build partnerships that work for both sides of the equation.

What this session tackles:

• How is the role of global financial centres like London evolving in relation to African markets?

• What needs to change to deepen liquidity, stability, and participation across African exchanges?

• How can capital markets better support long-term investment, rather than short-term, volatile flows?

• What role will local currency markets, cross-listings, and regional integration play in the next phase?

• Where are the new pathways for capital emerging - and who is positioned to access them?

17:15 Fireside Chat: Redefining African Philanthropy

As traditional development funding comes under pressure, philanthropic capital is playing an increasingly vital role in Africa's development. A new generation of African philanthropists is emerging alongside international foundations - bringing capital that is often more closely aligned to local priorities and long-term outcomes.

But philanthropy's role is under scrutiny. The question is no longer just how it fills funding gaps  - but whether it can move beyond that, working alongside public and private capital to drive sustainable, system-level impact. This session asks whether philanthropy needs to fundamentally evolve its model for the continent.

What this session tackles:

• What is the role of African philanthropy in driving economic development?

• What does plummeting ODA funding mean for philanthropy globally and in Africa?

• Which models are delivering meaningful, long-term impact - and what do African-led strategies look like?

• How can philanthropic capital be deployed to unlock broader investment, innovation, and scale?

17:45 Closing Remarks

18:00 Closing Reception

This programme is subject to change