The Africa CEO Forum, a key platform for high-level public-private dialogue and dealmaking, will hold its 2026 edition in Kigali under a theme focused on one central priority for Africa’s economic future: achieving the scale needed to compete and integrate in a rapidly fragmenting global world.
Scheduled for 14–15 May 2026, the forum will bring together Africa’s leading public and private decision-makers to address how the continent can build competitive corporate champions capable of operating across borders, not just within national markets. Organizers say that as global economic power shifts, scale has become “the first line of defense,” with African firms needing to grow larger, collaborate more deeply, and strengthen international connectivity to thrive.
Organized by Jeune Afrique Media Group and co-hosted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Africa CEO Forum 2026 will convene against a backdrop of improving macroeconomic indicators across parts of the continent, including stronger growth momentum and better sovereign outlooks for key institutions. However, the forum argues that reaching the next stage of expansion will require more than removing physical and regulatory barriers.
Instead, it calls for a “new mindset” grounded in shared ownership—an approach intended to mobilize capital, align infrastructure, and create cross-border frameworks that make it easier for businesses and investors to move at continental scale.
Three strategic levers for building continental champions
Forum organizers say the discussions will center on three strategic levers to help build scale across Africa:
– Shared equity: Unlock cross-border equity investment to develop multinational African champions, including mobilizing African institutional capital across markets to improve resilience and long-term returns.
– Shared infrastructure: Create complementary infrastructure that links African value chains, supports region-wide transformative projects, and enables truly integrated markets.
– Shared frameworks: Harmonize standards, rules, and regulations to increase investor confidence and support the free flow of capital, goods, and services—along with developing “future-proof digital rails” for sectors such as health, education, agriculture, and cross-border payments.
Amir Ben Yahmed, President of the Africa CEO Forum, said the continent must move beyond what he termed “economic patriotism” and embrace a model where African capital invests together.
“Shared ownership, cross-border partnerships and continental ambition will define the economic future of Africa and the next generation of African champions,” he said.
IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop also emphasized that Africa has both the capital and opportunity to expand while creating quality jobs, but called for turning that potential into scalable investment.
“What matters now is putting that capital to work at scale. That means building trust, sharing risk, and investing across borders,” Diop said.
Ten years after the launch of the negotiations for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the forum’s Kigali gathering is designed to move ambition into action. Organizers say business leaders, investors, heads of state, and ministers will be called on to commit capital, share risk, and take ownership—helping ensure Africa stakes a stronger claim in shaping its own growth trajectory.
