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Invest in African Energy 2026

Date: 11 - 12 May 2026

Location: Les Salon Hoche, Paris, France

Invest in African Energy Forum (IAE) unites the global investment community and showcases Africa’s most dynamic energy and infrastructure projects. The Invest in African Energy Forum (IAE) is an exclusive forum designed to foster collaboration between global investors and African energy markets. The event offers delegates two days of intensive engagement with industry experts, project developers, investors, and policymakers.

Power & Energy Tanzania 2026

Date:  – 07 – 09 October 2026

Location: Diamond Jubilee Expo Centre, Cape Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania

Power and Energy Africa in Tanzania connects international exhibitors with East and Central African buyers and decision-makers. It highlights power generation, renewable energy, and electrical equipment, attracting exhibitors from 25 plus countries to the East African market. Participants include global manufacturers, technical experts, and industry professionals from over 25 countries.

SOLAR EXPO 2026

Date: 29- 31 July 2026:  Location: Kenya International Convention Center, Nairobi, Kenya

Solar Expo is the foremost exhibition in Kenya and the entire East and Central African region for the solar industry. The event is the largest and most significant in the region attracting leading companies, experts, professionals and decision makers. The trade exhibition is a key platform for promoting the latest products, technology and equipment for the solar industry. The expo participants gain special access to the East African market allowing them to experience the domestic needs and tailor their products to the region.

POWER & ENERGY AFRICA 2026

Date: 29- 31 July 2026:  Location: Kenya International Convention Center, Nairobi, Kenya

Power & Energy Africa is the only exhibition dedicated to the power and energy sector in the region. Being the largest power event in the industry, the event showcases products and services to the industry’s largest gathering of qualified decision-makers, buyers, service provider, importers and distributors.  International exporters choose Power & Energy Expo to make their mark in the East African region. Exhibitors get access to trade visitors from all over East & Central Africa as well as regional trade bodies in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Somalia, Mozambique & Congo.

African Energy Week

Date: 12 - 16 October 2026

Location: CTICC Cape Town South Africa

African Energy Week (AEW) is the premier international platform for driving policy dialogue, dealmaking, and investment on the continent. Over five days of high-level engagement, AEW brings together policymakers, investors, national and international companies, and development institutions from across Africa and the world

Corporate Africa looks at key developments at the Francophone Business Summit 2025, and sector specific developments across French-speaking Africa offering insights into its evolving investment landscape and integration with English speaking countries.
 

Francophone Africa has emerged as a dynamic hub for investment, driven by growing interest in energy, infrastructure, agriculture, and fintech. The first half of 2025 saw significant capital inflows, strategic partnerships, and regulatory shifts shaping the region’s economic trajectory.

The region consists of 21nations; Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, and Togo has seen a significant surge in its energy sector. It is experiencing a renewable energy boom, with solar, wind, and hydro projects attracting substantial investment. Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire have taken the lead, with Senegal committing to 40 per cent renewable energy in its generation mix by 2030, while Côte d’Ivoire launched two international solar plant tenders in June of 2025.  

Key Developments:  

With international banks retreating local Banks and DFIs are playing a significant role in the region. These local financial institutions are stepping in and accelerating project financing. For example, Senegal saw a shorter disbursement timeline for infrastructure projects due to streamlined ESG requirements from local banks.  However there are challenges such as bureaucratic delays and high financing costs from local banks, though collaboration with international DFIs helps mitigate risks. Major Projects in the region includes Morocco’s US$9 billion light rail expansion and the African Development Bank’s US$320 million water facility for sanitation highlight the infrastructure growth.  

 Agriculture and Food Security:

Agriculture remains a cornerstone of Francophone Africa’s economy, with a shift toward agro-processing, climate-smart farming, and digital tools. Cameroon has integrated food systems into its National Development Strategy 2030, focusing on rice value chains and agro-ecology: While Guinea launched “Zero Hunger Villages”, combining land management and nutrition training for more than 200 communities. Madagascar on the other hand, deployed a digital tracking platform to monitor food security programs in real time. Nevertheless, despite the progress, financing gaps and fragmented donor reliance have acted to hinder scalability.    

Francophone startups are gaining traction, with exits and funding rounds signaling strong investor confidence.   Notable trends include the exit of Saviu Ventures and Lapaire (Ivorian eyewear startup) and I&P; while Enko Education (Cameroonian edtech), showcased very high returns during 2025. Fintechs including Cauridor (Guinea) raised US$3.5 million for cross-border payments, while Wave (Senegal) remains the region’s sole unicorn.  And, venture capital firms such as Oui Capital and Baobab Network are doubling down in Francophone markets, targeting fintech and logistics.  However, regulatory fragmentation and small market sizes remain hurdles.   

Foreign and Regional Investors

Key investor players are China, which dominates infrastructure, with US$51 billion pledged for African clean energy projects, including Francophone nations. UAE investors are expanding into real estate and telecoms, particularly in Morocco, and France retains strong influence in banking (Société Générale) and telecoms, although these ties are weakening. Local Champions Djamo (Côte d’Ivoire) secured US$17 million to expand SME services, reflecting increasing homegrown innovation.   

Francophone Africa Business Summit

FABS 2025 highlighted opportunities for Anglophone-Francophone collaboration, emphasizing cross-border trade and pan African integration. Over 270 influential leaders, investors, and business executives from Anglophone and Francophone Africa were at the summit to foster cross-border collaboration and economic integration. The summit, themed “Amplifying Growth in Africa: From Momentum to Scale,” provided a dynamic platform for knowledge exchange, strategic networking, and actionable partnerships. Some of the highlights from this transformative event were:  

(a)   Bridging the Anglophone-Francophone Divide, strengthening business ties between Francophone key economies (Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Senegal) and Anglophone economies (Nigeria, Ghana). Discussions emphasized the untapped potential for cross-border trade, investment, and economic synergy between these regions. Participants highlighted the need to overcome linguistic and regulatory barriers to unlock Africa’s combined market potential.  

(b)   Launch of the Francophone Africa Business Association (FABA), a year-round platform designed to sustain the summit’s mission. FABA will serve as a hub for continuous collaboration, advocacy, market insights, and business expansion across Francophone and Anglophone Africa. This initiative ensures that the momentum from FABS extends beyond the annual event, fostering long-term partnerships.  

(c) Sector-Specific Opportunities, Collaborations includes EdTech & Skills Development. Companies like Microvarsity showcased how vocational training programs can bridge educational gaps and empower entrepreneurs across linguistic divides.  While trade and investment revealed lucrative opportunities in agribusiness, fintech, and infrastructure, with a call for harmonized policies under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).  And energy and Infrastructure case studies highlighted successful public-private partnerships in renewable energy and logistics, aligning with broader AfCFTA-driven regional value chains.  

(d) High-Level Networking and Deal-Making was a feature of the summit facilitating B2B matchmaking, investor roundtables, and sector-specific dialogues, resulting in tangible business connections. Attendees praised the event’s structured networking sessions, which enabled cross-border partnerships in industries like tech, manufacturing, and finance.  

“This exchange between French-speaking and English-speaking countries can only unify and enrich both French and English speaking Africa.”  According to the Organizers who pledged to expand FABS’s reach, with plans for roadshow events in multiple Francophone countries to deepen engagement and make it a cornerstone for pan-African business transformation.  

Challenges however still remain despite the increase in investments and finance on the ground especially in energy and agriculture and the success of FABA 2025. Regulatory bottlenecks in project financing, fragmented markets are very much in evident and debt concerns in Tunisia, works to deter FDI. Other challenges like bureaucracy and financing costs persist. The region’s potential is undeniable. Strategic partnerships, regulatory reforms, and enhanced transparency, such as the African Development Bank’s IATI workshop, will be critical to sustaining momentum. As global investors recalibrate their strategies, Francophone Africa stands poised to become a cornerstone of Africa’s economic future.  

Africa Oil Week 2026

Africa's leading oil and gas event

Date: 1 - 3 September 2026

Location: Accra, Ghana, West Africa

AOW is the global platform for stimulating deals and transactions across the African Upstream. For over 25 years, the event has brought together governments, national and international oil companies, independents, investors, the G&G community, and service providers. AOW prides itself on offering unrivalled opportunities that drive investment and deal-making across the continent, thus shaping the future of Africa. AOW connects 50+ ministers and government leaders, 300+ leading speakers, and over 2,000+ senior delegates across 5 days of pioneering industry-leading insight, delivering deals and transactions across our conference, exhibition, and elite networking platforms.

Nigeria Oil & Gas Energy Week

Date: 5 - 9 July 2026

Location: ICC, Abuja, Nigeria

NOG Energy Week Conference & Exhibition generates robust and integrated conversations around how Nigeria can truly galvanize its universal energy mix. This will also engage and leverage a wider audience of stakeholders, financiers, investors and private sector across the entire oil, gas, LNG, renewables, power and energy spectrum.

Africa Energy Forum

Date: 16 - 19 June 2026

Location: CTICC Cape Town South Africa

The Africa Energy Forum balances Africa’s Needs with global Goals.

The Africa Energy Forum is an investment meeting for Africa’s power and gas sectors. It brings together and connects industry leaders and their projects in high stake networking sessions involving government officials, utility representatives, and investors from the private sector to generate partnerships, solutions, and investments that will drive energy projects in targeted communities and industries.

AviaDev Conference

Date: 10 - 12 June 2026

Location: Gabarone International Conference Centre, Gabarone, Botswana, Southern Africa

AviaDev brings together airports, airlines, tourism authorities, governments and industry suppliers, AviaDev offers attendees the ability to pre-arrange meetings, learn from industry peers and make those important connections.

Power & Electric Uganda 2026

Date: 9 - 11 July 2026 Location: Kampala, Uganda, Africa

Networking is an integral part of this event which is the largest international expo in Uganda for power, energy, solar and renewable industries. It features exhibitors, manufacturers, and technology providers from Uganda, Kenya, China, India, Turkey, and Tanzania, offering B2B networking and product demonstrations.The exhibition serves as a platform for industry leaders, project developers, and government officials to connect and explore new solutions for East Africa’s rapidly growing power sector

Angola Oil & Gas 2026

Date: 9 – 10 September 2026 Location: Luanda, Angola

Angola Oil and Gas 2026, is taking place on September 9-10, 2026 in Luanda. It offers a platform for dialogue, deal signing and decision-making. Following the finalization of its 12-block latest bid round. which received a total of 53 bids: And downstream projects in Angola’s pipeline including the Lobito and Sovo refineries, the Angola- Zambia Oil Pipeline, and and LNG storage and gas processing terminal, all of which are under development, makes the event a strong platform for new opportunities. 

Sub Saharan Africa International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference

Date: 10 – 12 February 2026 Location: Convention Centre, Lagos, Nigeria

Hosted by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), with the strategic partnership of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and NNPC Limited: SAIPEC is the largest event in the centre of the region’s energy, oil and gas hub, but also the only truly industry-led event, held in partnership with the country’s petroleum sector

Africa Tech Festival

Date: 16 – 19 November 2026 Location: Cape Town Convention Centre, Cape Town, South Africa

The Africa Tech Festival is Africa’s largest technology and digital innovation event. It brings together over 15,000 global and African tech leaders, policymakers, investors, and startups to discuss AI, connectivity, fintech, and digital infrastructure to drive Africa’s digital transformation, hosting major events like AfricaCom and AfricaTech. The event focuses on bringing “tech for good” to Africa, aiming to bridge the digital gap through AI, IoT, blockchain, and 5G/connectivity solutions.

Key events are: Telecommunications and connectivity. AfricaTech dedicated to enterprise technology, innovation, and digital transformation.AfricaIgnite: A dedicated space for startups, entrepreneurs, and investors to foster growth: The AI Summit Cape Town: Focuses on Artificial Intelligence applications in African business. Networking & Collaboration serves as a major hub for fostering partnerships between telecom operators, regulators, and tech innovators, featuring high-level keynotes, panel discussions, and exhibition halls.