Powering Africa Summit Agenda 2026

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

During last year’s PAS, we discussed challenges around financing and guarantees. What are the perceived barriers to deeper bilateral investment and partnerships?

• Regional energy trade is reducing risk by being a financial back stop, what impact is this having on investor confidence?
• With the appetite for local currency financing increasing, and volatility in international markets, what do investors need to consider when structuring deals?
• Can vehicles like Zafiri address Africa’s toughest energy-financing gaps, like clean cooking?
• Can Africa afford a nuclear-powered future?

Discussion points:

• Bankable opportunities across generation (gas-to-power, embedded & renewable), transmission expansion, and distribution reform.
• Building a 24/7 reliable power ecosystem for a $100bn+ subnational economy.
• Regulatory innovations enabling private capital participation in the Lagos electricity market.
• Clean energy integration and energy transition strategy for sustainable growth.

US-Southern Africa

Invitation Only

Africa holds 30% of the world’s mineral reserves. To meet expected rise in global demand, production will need to increase by nearly 500% by 2050.* In addition to the Lobito Corridor, what else should stakeholders do to meet this opportunity?

• How can the US further develop supply chains with Africa for the critical minerals that it relies on?
• Delivering clean water and energy to mining communities to increase productivity, health and wealth.
• The future of Africa’s refining sector to produce value-added products.
• How can the US and Africa work jointly to create stable pricing for Africa’s critical minerals?

* Africa’s critical minerals, Mo Ibrahim Foundation, 2022

Artificial intelligence is reshaping global energy markets. From hyperscale data centres to localized processing integrated with distributed systems, digital demand is increasingly influencing how power and broadband projects are structured, financed, and scaled. For Africa, this moment presents a strategic opportunity: leveraging growing digital loads as anchor demand to strengthen the economics of both grid-connected and distributed energy systems. By improving utilization and revenue stability—particularly for mini-grids—integrated power–digital models can accelerate electrification and digital connectivity for people and economies while reducing cost pressures for underserved communities.

• How can distributed energy systems capture growing digital and AI-driven demand while simultaneously expanding affordable household electricity and broadband connectivity?
• What commercial structures—anchor offtake agreements, blended finance, risk mitigation instruments, and hard-currency revenue streams—can improve scalability and investor confidence?
• How can integrated energy–digital infrastructure unlock two-way U.S.–Africa economic opportunity, supply-chain development, and long-term competitiveness?

US-East Africa

Invitation Only

The critical role of gas to industrialise and power economic growth in Africa and the US has never been more urgent. However, with deals taking up to ten years to complete, what should investors be doing to increase the pace of investment in these critical resources?

• Why does the US consider Africa a Strategic Energy Partner and what does this mean?
• How gas offers Africa a diversified industrial future, bringing in US technology and new industrial partners.
• How the US is supporting Africa’s energy baseload needs through gas development and industrialisation.

This session will explore the strategic and commercial case for cross-border transmission infrastructure, anchored in the HYDRO-LINK project and its broader regional implications. Speakers will:

• Examine the Angola–DRC high-voltage interconnector as a scalable private transmission platform linking generation, industrial demand, and regional power pools.
• Assess how reliable cross-border power enables mining, mineral processing, and manufacturing expansion across Southern and Central Africa.
• Explore transmission as a cornerstone of energy security and critical minerals supply chains amid shifting global trade and geopolitical dynamics.
• Highlight transmission as an attractive, stable infrastructure asset class aligned with long-term government and institutional capital priorities.

US-West Africa

Invitation Only

Thank you PAS 2026!