Programme

HIGH LEVEL MINISTERIAL ROUNDTABLE: FROM PROJECTS TO PRODUCTIVE ECONOMIES — BUILDING THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AFRICA’S INTEGRATION AND INDUSTRIALISATION Africa’s next infrastructure agenda must move beyond isolated assets towards productive economic systems that connect people, power, logistics, industry and markets. This high-level roundtable examines how governments can align national infrastructure plans with AfCFTA, Agenda 2063, PIDA priorities and regional integration strategies. Ministers and senior policymakers will discuss how PPPs can help deliver corridors, energy systems, industrial zones and trade-enabling infrastructure that support value addition, job creation and long-term competitiveness

PPP UNITS AT THE FRONTLINE: TURNING NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS INTO BANKABLE, PROCURABLE AND DELIVERABLE PROJECTS PPP units sit at the centre of Africa’s infrastructure delivery challenge, translating political priorities and national development plans into projects that can withstand investor, lender and procurement scrutiny. This session brings together PPP unit heads to examine how institutions can screen projects, manage fiscal commitments, coordinate ministries and support bankable pipelines. The discussion will focus on practical lessons from African and relevant international PPP programmes, including how PPP units can work with treasuries, procuring authorities, DFIs and project preparation facilities.

FROM DOMESTIC SAVINGS TO PRODUCTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE: MOBILISING AFRICAN PENSION, INSURANCE AND CAPITAL MARKET FUNDS Africa’s infrastructure financing challenge cannot be solved through sovereign borrowing and external capital alone. This session explores how pension funds, insurers, sovereign funds, capital markets and local currency instruments can be mobilised for productive infrastructure. The discussion will examine how to make PPPs investable for domestic institutional capital through regulatory reform, project bonds, credit enhancement, pooled infrastructure vehicles, guarantees and de-risked pipelines linked to transport corridors, energy systems, housing, logistics and industrial development.

BEYOND SOVEREIGN DEBT: HOW MDBs, DFIs AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS CAN DE-RISK AFRICA’S INFRASTRUCTURE PIPELINE Africa needs a more coordinated development finance architecture that moves projects from concept to close while reducing over-reliance on sovereign debt. This session will convene MDBs, DFIs and regional development banks to examine how institutions such as AfDB, AFC, TDB, Africa50, AIIB, EBRD, IFC, DBSA and others can support project preparation, guarantees, blended finance and co-financing. The focus will be on de-risking bankable pipelines that advance integration, industrialisation and local currency infrastructure investment.

KENYA A CONTINENTAL AND EAST AFRICAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND INDUSTRIAL HUB: PRIORITY PROJECTS, PPP PIPELINE AND REGIONAL DELIVERY LESSONS Kenya’s infrastructure agenda offers a platform to examine how national priorities connect with East African regional integration. This session positions Kenya not only as a project market, but as a logistics, energy, digital, financial and industrial hub serving the wider EAC region. Discussion will focus on Kenya’s PPP pipeline, Mombasa-linked trade corridors, the Northern Corridor, LAPSSET-related opportunities, energy and transmission assets, affordable housing, SEZs and lessons for project preparation and delivery.

INDUSTRIALISATION NEEDS INFRASTRUCTURE: POWER, DIGITAL BACKBONE AND PRODUCTIVE ZONES FOR AFRICA’S NEXT GROWTH PHASE Africa’s industrialisation ambitions depend on more than factories; they require reliable power, digital networks, water, logistics, skills, housing and trade infrastructure. This fireside chat will explore how productive zones, SEZs, manufacturing ecosystems and mineral value chains can be supported by integrated infrastructure planning. It will connect continental market access, regional supply chains, digital public infrastructure, energy reliability and logistics competitiveness to the next phase of Africa’s industrial growth and infrastructure-led transformation.

CORRIDORS CREATING MARKETS: ROADS, RAIL AND BORDER INFRASTRUCTURE FOR INTRA AFRICAN TRADE AND INDUSTRIAL GROWTH Transport corridors are not simply roads and railways; they are economic systems that connect producers, ports, industrial zones, energy assets and regional markets. This session examines how corridor infrastructure can reduce logistics costs, support AfCFTA implementation and improve trade competitiveness. Discussion will consider the Northern Corridor, Central Corridor, Lobito Corridor, LAPSSET-related links and cross-border border-post modernisation as reference points for structuring bankable PPPs and building market-making regional infrastructure.

POWERING PRODUCTION: BANKABLE ENERGY, TRANSMISSION AND REGIONAL POWER TRADE Industrialisation, digital growth and regional value chains require power systems that are reliable, affordable, bankable and interconnected. This session will focus on generation, transmission, storage, wheeling, grid resilience and regional power trade as productive infrastructure. It will examine how PPPs and blended finance can support renewable energy, geothermal, hydropower, gas-to-power where appropriate, transmission lines and cross-border interconnectors, while strengthening regional power pools and supporting industrial demand from mines, SEZs, cities and data centres.

SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE AS ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE: AFFORDABLE WATER, HEALTH, HOUSING AND WASTE PPPS Water, health, housing and waste systems are not secondary social services; they are essential to productive cities, public health, workforce participation and investor confidence. This fireside chat will examine how governments can structure social infrastructure PPPs that are bankable without becoming unaffordable. The discussion will connect urbanisation, climate resilience, municipal finance, affordable housing, water security, healthcare access and circular economy models to Africa’s broader infrastructure and industrial development agenda.

GATEWAYS TO GLOBAL MARKETS: PORTS, MARITIME LOGISTICS AND AIR CONNECTIVITY AS TRADE INFRASTRUCTURE Ports, maritime logistics and air connectivity are critical gateways for Africa’s trade, exports, tourism, e-commerce and regional value chains. This session will examine how African economies can modernise ports, airports, air cargo systems, logistics hubs and maritime corridors to reduce trade costs and improve competitiveness. Discussion will consider the role of assets such as the Port of Mombasa, Lamu, dry ports, hinterland logistics, airport cargo terminals and coastal-to-corridor infrastructure in linking Africa to regional and global markets.

FEEDING AFRICA’S FUTURE: INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AGRICULTURE, AGRO-INDUSTRIALISATION AND FOOD SECURITY Food security and agricultural transformation are central to Africa’s economic resilience, job creation and industrialisation agenda, yet they remain heavily constrained by infrastructure gaps. This panel will examine how PPPs and blended finance can mobilise investment into irrigation, rural roads, cold chains, storage, agro-logistics, agro-processing parks and digital agriculture platforms. The discussion will connect agricultural productivity to wider corridor, energy and trade infrastructure, and explore how governments can structure bankable agri-infrastructure projects that strengthen value chains, reduce post-harvest losses and support climate-resilient food systems.

FROM CAPITAL TO EXECUTION: IMPERATIVES FOR DELIVERING AFRICA’S INFRASTRUCTURE AND INDUSTRIAL FUTURE The closing panel will translate APPP 2026 discussions into practical imperatives for delivery. It will ask what must change in the next 12 months and beyond to move from strategy, capital and project announcements to more bankable pipelines, financial close and completed assets. The session will bring together government, PPP units, DFIs, institutional investors and private partners to identify priority actions on project preparation, domestic capital mobilisation, de-risking, regional coordination and Deal Room follow-up.

Special Features:

• • Pre-conference workshop: Practical training on project preparation and structuring 

• • BUSINESS BREAKFAST BRIEFING KENYA INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT SPOTLIGHT: PRIORITY PROJECTS 

• • The Africa PPP Deal Room (the summit’s practical transaction-facing platform, bringing project sponsors, PPP units, DFIs, banks, institutional investors, legal advisers, technical advisers and project preparation facilities into curated closed-door discussions. Selected projects are reviewed against readiness, mandate, revenue model, risk allocation, procurement pathway and financing gaps. The Deal Room supports bankability acceleration, investor matching, and structured post-event follow-up.
  • Post-event site visits: Technical tours of key infrastructure developments and Touristic Tours to discover Kenya
  • Project showcases: Each session highlights bankable, investment-ready opportunities across sectors