Agenda 2026

NB: Topics, times and speakers may be subject to change as the agenda develops.

This is an invitation-only roundtable for the confirmed DFI contributors and SWFs only. This is designed to foster a deeper dialogue among participants.

What Can Stakeholders in Growing Economies Learn from the UAE’s Rapid Industrialisation?

The last 60 years has developed the UAE into a leading high-income country, using its fossil fuels to transition to an energy and water secure future.

• How has setting a vision enabled the UAE to succeed at such scale and pace?
• What has investing petrodollars heavily in infrastructure, jobs and water security meant for long term economic growth?
• The role of stable governance and clear regulatory frameworks in attracting FDI to the UAE

Large Scale Transmission and Distribution Projects

Focus on private T&D development has increased hugely – we look at the new shift.

• Which factors could destabilise the push for private investment into T&D?
• What is the impact on the public sector of open access T&D?
• How are the M300 compacts encouraging investment into T&D and what progress has been made to date?
• Does the emergence of private sector electricity traders increase the opportunity/urgency for more T&D investment?

What Role Does DRE Play in Achieving Africa’s Energy Access Objectives?

We examine the critical impact that DRE can have on bringing affordable, reliable electricity to Sub-Saharan Africa.

• How are M300 compacts encouraging investment into DRE and driving sustained growth into off-grid?
• Are RBF mechanisms and demand stimulation initiatives making investment into innovative off-grid solutions more sustainable?
• Where is DRE powering productive use and making rural electrification bankable?

Rising Global Demand for Critical Minerals: Africa’s Opportunity

With around 30% of global mineral reserves, Africa has a key opportunity to leverage this demand to promote wider industrial growth.

• What’s the real demand outlook and who’s driving it?
• From the Lobito Corridor to the BRI: which partnerships are emerging to get projects underway?
• Is Africa ready to maximise this opportunity for broader industrial expansion?
• How can African nations successfully enforce local processing hubs?

How Has the Middle East Become the Largest Investor in Africa, and What are the Impacts of This?

GCC countries are the most significant investor in Africa, targeting RE, oil and gas as well as agriculture.

• How is this massive capital influx creating growth opportunities?
• What impact is this vital boost having on generation, T&D and energy and water security?
• Will the Middle East’s investment in agriculture develop transport infrastructure, cold storage and support the current surge to increase clean cooking across SSA?
• What major infrastructure projects are most attractive for the Middle East?

South Africa – Grid Resilience and Expansion

NTCSA’s TDP plans to build 14,500 km of new transmission infrastructure in the next 10 years.

• What opportunities do these projects present to the private sector and to regional private T&D capacity and expertise?
• How are regulatory reforms and financial instruments (e.g. CGV) enabling this trailblazing project?
• How long will it take for Phase 1 projects to deliver, and when/where will we see local participation?

Prospects for Data Centres in Africa’s Energy Ecosystem

How data centres are changing Africa’s energy investment landscape.

• Is this growing demand attracting new investments into the sector?
• Will data centres put too much pressure on the continent’s grids so they will have to stay off-grid?
• What opportunities are emerging for solution providers?
• How can we avoid diverting focus and resources away from other electrification efforts?

Building Large-Scale Pit-to-Port Infrastructure

Unlocking Africa’s mineral wealth requires significant investment in large-scale infrastructure to move resources efficiently, connect markets, generate power and attract investments.

• Simandou to Liberty: what are the replicable models?
• What do timelines look like? What is required to meet them in this global race?
• Can infrastructure corridors deliver shared power, water, and logistics infrastructure beyond mining projects?
• What are the next major projects? How do we revive the ones stuck on the drawing board?

Middle Eastern SWF Investment Strategies for the African Energy Sector

Strategic investment by SWFs is driving Africa’s industrialised future, while supporting regional energy security.

• Is an RE focus driven by the energy transition or other factors?
• How will investment into critical minerals strengthen the Middle East’s access to the resources needed for new clean energy technologies?
• New partnerships are achieving the Middle East’s aim of diversification, what are the benefits for energy, water and infrastructure in Africa?

BESS: Enhancing Grid Stability and Decreasing Costs

With costs significantly reducing, how are solar, wind, gas and even hydro projects adopting BESS to increase bankability and reliability?

• Does inclusion of BESS impact investor appetite in RE projects?
• Where will we be seeing increased stability due to the use of BESS in 2026/7?
• Hybrid energy systems and balancing different energy solutions onto the grid – the new norm?
• What is the future for battery storage in Africa?

How M300 Compacts Are Channelling FDI into Energy Access and Clean Cooking

We consider how stakeholders can utilise countries’ compacts to accelerate energy access projects.

• Do the compacts provide an investment framework for DFIs and other investors to get behind (e.g. T&D)?
• How are compacts increasing private sector mobilisation to accelerate the rate of energy access projects?
• How will delivering the compacts mobilise more investment into clean cooking?

Financing Infrastructure Projects Behind Critical Minerals

inancing large-scale infrastructure for critical minerals requires projects to move quickly from concept to bankability, while managing risk across complex delivery timelines.

• What’s the new blueprint for funding $10bn corridors?
• How can projects reach financial close within timelines that preserve bankability?
• Where do deals typically break down, and how do we fix it?
• How do we mitigate sovereign risk for private investors?
• DFIs, blended finance, Political Risk Insurance: are they the solution?

Closed Door Middle East – Ministerial Energy & Infrastructure Roundtable

This is an invitation-only roundtable for investors from the Middle East and Ministers only to discuss “Building Africa’s Industrialised Future”. This format is designed to foster a deeper dialogue.

Closed Door Utilities Roundtable

This is an invitation-only roundtable for the listed Heads of Utilities only. This is designed to foster a deeper dialogue among sector leaders.

The Captive and Embedded Power Trilemma: Reliability, Cost, and Bankability

Massive offtakers (mining operations, desalination projects, data centres) require 24/7 “five-nines” reliability.

• With renewable captive solutions (solar, wind and hydro) becoming cheaper, when are offtakers still relying on gas or diesel for baseload stability?
• How deregulated markets have resulted in increased investment.
• Where are the opportunities for developers and what makes projects bankable?
• Laying foundations for future offtakers, including the growing
  role of de-salination plants across the continent.

Powering Africa’s Mineral Gateways: Rail, Ports, and Digital Corridors

This session examines the integrated solutions required to transform Africa’s ports and rail from mineral corridors into resilient trade gateways.

• How can public–private partnerships accelerate rail and logistics modernisation while creating bankable investments?
• How do we develop corridors that attract capital and strengthen regional supply chains?
• Can AI and smart systems optimize rail, port, and logistics coordination across the supply chain?
• How can a corridor’s energy system also power surrounding communities and industry?

NB: Topics, times and speakers may be subject to change as the agenda develops.

Southern Africa – Fireside Chats on the Latest Trends in the Region

A series of intimate discussions between an interviewer and a special guest to provide you with unique insights on topics of the day.

09:00-09:20

Fireside Chat 1

Interviewer:

Zandile Hlatywayo, Director of Strategy & Innovation, Allied Talent Partners

09:25-09:45

Fireside Chat 2

09:50-10:10

Fireside Chat 3

How Has Recent Geopolitics Impacted International Attitudes to Gas?

We consider how current conflicts and the shift in foreign policy objectives have influenced Africa’s gas project options.

• How to build confidence in the gas sector given movements over the last ten years
• Will the resurgence of gas projects impact investments in clean energy solutions such as solar, wind and hydro?
• Gas can supercharge industrialisation and energy access – can this potential ever be realised?

Offtake Structures in a Liberalising Market

How are PPAs impacted by an increasingly diverse energy buyers’ landscape?

• How are investors moving from single-buyer utility models to multi-buyer private and merchant models?
• Can these changes halt the current ‘race to the bottom’ on tariffs?
• How could reforms like SAWEM in South Africa transform future PPAs and will they impact those already in place?

Mining as a Catalyst for Energy Security

To turn mineral wealth into national power, Africa must leverage industrial demand to build the transmission backbone that will secure its energy future.

• How does mining demand drive investments to building regional interconnectors? Lessons from Angola-DRC-Zambia & the Kalumbila-Kolwezi Interconnector Projects
• Rising to the challenge of meeting C&I energy needs in rural locations: How do we turn remote mega-projects into national grid assets?
• How can energy expansion strengthen energy security without increasing pressure on already scarce water resources?

West Africa – Fireside Chats on the Latest Trends in the Region

A series of intimate discussions between an interviewer and a special guest to provide you with unique insights on topics of the day.

10:45-11:05

Fireside Chat 1

11:10-11:30

Fireside Chat 2

11:35-11:55

Fireside Chat 3

How Wind Energy is Powering the Energy Transition

Wind offers a huge opportunity for Africa to achieve energy access targets.

• Why has installed capacity grown significantly on the continent?
• How should the continent exploit Africa’s vast untapped wind resources?
• How will T&D investment and BESS affordability impact wind power projects?
• Is offshore now a viable option to power Africa’s increasing need for export port facilities?

Africa’s Power Pools’ Growing Influence on Regional Integration and Energy Security

Power pools are facilitating regional energy trading, transmission development and unlocking new RE generation.

• How are power pools facilitating increased volumes of energy being traded across their networks?
• How are power pools supporting multiple offtake structures to make projects more bankable?
• What is the latest in interconnecting the power pools and how will tools like RTIFF derisk projects and encourage regional power trade and broader liberalisation?

Critical Minerals to Accelerate Renewable Energy Projects

Mining-driven power demand can accelerate investment in renewable energy projects, lowering operational costs while supporting broader industrial development.

• How is mining and industrial demand fast-tracking solar, wind and BESS development?
• How are renewables lowering operational costs while supporting the energy transition
  and strenghthening water security?
• Lessons from Zambia’s 430 MW Solar-Wind Hybrid Project & DRC Nzilo II project: how mining demand enables massive renewables build-out

East Africa – Fireside Chats on the Latest Trends in the Region

A series of intimate discussions between an interviewer and a special guest to provide you with unique insights on topics of the day.

13:30-13:50

Fireside Chat 1

13:55-14:15

Fireside Chat 2

14:20-14:40

Fireside Chat 3

What Does a ‘Just’ Energy Transition Mean for Africa?

With funders becoming more open to returning to gas projects, we consider how different paths are needed for different economies.

• How pragmatic do we need to be about using gas for development?
• Do African countries need an energy mix that prioritises national industrialisation over external climate conditionalities?
• Is a short term ‘carbon overdraft’ necessary to accelerate towards RE implementation?

Spotlight on Profitable Secondary Asset Markets

This market has started to grow in South Africa, offering stable investor returns and allowing capital to be recycled into new projects.

• How important is it to close the development capital cycle?
• How does the secondary asset sales market complete the energy ecosystem and offer a structured exit to developers?
• Why is secondary asset investment attractive to private equity firms, pension funds and other long-term institutional investors?
• What capacity is there for an African market outside of South Africa and what lessons can be learnt from Europe and India?

Powering Downstream Mining Capacity in Africa

To compete in the global critical minerals race and promote industrialisation, Africa must power its downstream mining capacity.

• How can mining/industrial hubs and reliable energy infrastructure make the mining sector more competitive while supporting regional development?
• How can local processing deliver greater value addition and long-term benefits for local communities?
• The Circular Economy – how can managing energy and water facilities will increase efficiency and lower associated refining costs

North Africa – Fireside Chats on the Latest Trends in the Region

A series of intimate discussions between an interviewer and a special guest to provide you with unique insights on topics of the day.

15:15-15:35

Fireside Chat 1

15:40-16:00

Fireside Chat 2

16:05-16:25

Fireside Chat 3

Harnessing Hydropower to Meet Energy Demand

The continent possesses immense hydropower potential – we look at recent progress achieved.

• How are the large-scale hydro projects coming online successfully evacuating the power?
• How has the strategy shifted from building massive dams to creating resilient, hybrid systems that can withstand climate change?
• How AI technology and weather mapping can improve integrated water resources management (IWRM), energy and water efficiency

Closed Door Regulators Roundtable

This is an invitation-only roundtable for the listed Heads of Regulators only. This is designed to foster a deeper dialogue among sector leaders.

Closed Door Africa-EU Critical Minerals Strategy Roundtable

This is an invitation-only roundtable for African and European stakeholders to strengthen cooperation on critical minerals. This format is designed to foster a deeper dialogue.

NB: Topics, times and speakers may be subject to change as the agenda develops.

What is the Impact of Global Policies and Trends on Solution Providers?

With CBAM coming into effect, growing demand from data centres, and tariffs drastically altering in recent times, what is the impact for technology providers?

• How is data centre growth impacting on more traditional energy projects’ supply chains?
• Why being ‘CBAM-ready’ could provide a competitive advantage for those aiming for the EU market?
• How is CBAM’s drive to reduce ‘carbon leakage’ offering new opportunities to suppliers?
• What impact are volatile tariffs having on the energy value chain?

Solar – Africa’s Shining Star

Solar projects on the continent have reached a critical turning point, offering cost-effective and reliable solutions for both utility-scale and C&I markets.

• Are the falling costs of solar fuelling more projects?
• With progress made in combining BESS with solar, will we create a 24/7 energy source?
• What opportunities does C&I solar offer and how bankable are they?

Energy Trading – Transforming Africa’s Energy Market

Energy traders are plugging a gap for creditworthy offtakers, transforming how power is financed, distributed and consumed.

• Energy traders as service and risk partners for C&I.
• Are mining companies the ‘golden ticket’ for energy traders or do they need to take a wider view?
• What are the ‘rules of the road’ emerging from trader-backed projects?
• How the rise of energy traders presents a double-edged sword for public utilities

Realising AI to Achieve Revenue, Grid Resilience and Energy Access

We deep dive into how AI is being used to leapfrog traditional energy hurdles.

• Are smart meter analytics resulting in accurate tracking to improve revenue protection for cash-strapped utilities?
• How successful has AI technology been for predictive maintenance and preventing outages?
• How is M300 leveraging AI to manage ‘digital loads’ and make mini-grids more profitable?

Spotlight on Investment Opportunities in the Middle East

Examining the ‘Risk Gap’

Initiatives like M300 are attempting to ‘flip the script’ on investment into the continent.

• Perceived Risk vs. Actual Investment Performance.
• Can compacts provide much needed predictability for investors?
• How impactful are blended finance and guarantees in derisking investments?
• How successfully can local currency financing and permanent capital investment vehicles, like Zafiri, attract investment?

aef 2026 hand over to aef 2027