Organisers have confirmed this year’s summit will be held under the theme, “The Scale Imperative: Why Africa Must Embrace Shared Ownership,” placing business expansion, cross-border investment and regional integration at the centre of discussions on Africa’s economic future.
The forum comes at a time of shifting global economic dynamics, with organisers arguing that African economies and businesses must achieve greater scale to remain competitive in an increasingly fragmented global marketplace.
Hosted by Jeune Afrique Media Group and co-organised with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the event is expected to draw several of Africa’s top political and business leaders.
Among those already confirmed are host President Paul Kagame and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria, alongside Prime Ministers Maria Benvinda Levi of Mozambique, Robert Beugré Mambé of Côte d’Ivoire, and Amadou Oury Bah of Guinea.
Senior ministers from Angola, Senegal, Guinea, Nigeria and Gabon are also expected to attend.
According to organisers, the 2026 edition will focus on how African governments and private sector leaders can collaborate to build larger, more competitive continental enterprises through shared ownership models and cross-border partnerships.
The agenda will revolve around three strategic priorities: shared equity, which focuses on promoting cross-border investment to create multinational African firms; shared infrastructure, aimed at developing regional infrastructure projects to integrate value chains; and shared frameworks, which seek to harmonise regulations and standards to facilitate the movement of capital, goods and services across borders.
Amir Ben Yahmed, President of the Africa CEO Forum, said Africa must move beyond fragmented national approaches if it hopes to compete globally.
“If Africa wants to compete in a world defined by scale, it must move beyond economic patriotism and embrace a new model: African capital investing together,” he said.
“Shared ownership, cross-border partnerships and continental ambition will define the economic future of Africa and the next generation of African champions.”
Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of IFC, said the continent already has the capital and economic opportunity needed for growth and create quality jobs, but must deploy both more effectively.
“What matters now is putting that capital to work at scale. That means building trust, sharing risk, and investing across borders,” he said.
The Africa CEO Forum has grown into one of the continent’s most influential platforms for public-private dialogue and dealmaking, often shaping conversations around Africa’s investment climate, industrial policy and regional economic integration.
The 2026 gathering marks Kigali’s third time hosting the forum, further cementing Rwanda’s position as a regional hub for major international business and policy events.
Kigali first hosted the Africa CEO Forum in 2019, the first time the summit was held in East Africa, with discussions then centred on regional integration and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The forum returned to Rwanda in 2024 under the theme “At the Table or On the Menu? A Critical Moment to Shape a New Future for Africa.”
Its 2025 edition was held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Organisers say the 2026 summit, coming a decade after the launch of AfCFTA negotiations, will seek to convert years of integration rhetoric into concrete commitments by business and political leaders.
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