AFRICA FINANCIAL SUMMIT - AFIS

📣 A new wave of confirmations brings 13 central bank governors to AFIS 2026, taking place in Luanda on 3–4 November. 🏛️ Between them, they lead 11 national central banks and the 2 regional central banks of the CFA franc zones, BCEAO (compte officiel) and BEAC, whose monetary policy covers 14 countries in West and Central Africa. In total, 25 countries will be represented through their monetary authorities. 🌍 Southern Africa is strongly represented at the first AFIS held in the region. Governor Manuel António Tiago Dias of Banco Nacional de Angola will be joined by his counterparts from 8 other SADC member states: Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 🔄 Several of these institutions have changed leadership recently. Soraya M. Hakuziyaremye became the first woman to lead the National Bank of Rwanda in February 2025, and Lesego Michael Moseki took over at the Bank of Botswana in late 2025, having joined it in 1994. Uanguta Ebson became Governor of the Bank of Namibia in January 2026 after 14 years as Deputy Governor, while Felisberto Navalha was sworn in at Banco de Moçambique in September 2026, succeeding Rogerio Zandamela after a decade at its helm. 🗣️ With Angola, Mozambique and Cabo Verde on the list, 3 of the governors come from Portuguese-speaking countries, at the first edition held in a Lusophone country. 🤝 They will sit alongside the finance ministers, bankers, insurers, investors and fintech leaders already announced, among more than 1,250 senior decision-makers expected in Luanda. More names will be announced in the coming weeks. 🌍 AFIS is organised by Jeune Afrique Media Group in partnership with the Government of Angola (Governo Federal de Angola) and IFC - International Finance Corporation (The World Bank Group). IFC Africa 👉 Register now: https://lnkd.in/egzwgS-m

📣 The theme of AFIS 2026 has been announced: "Making Capital Count: Unlocking Growth Through African Finance". 🎯 Every AFIS edition is built around a single idea that reflects where African finance stands. For Luanda, AFIS has chosen an idea that sets a demanding standard for the 2 days ahead. On 3 and 4 November in Luanda, the summit will examine how the capital already present on the continent can be directed towards the projects that create jobs, deepen local markets and finance industrial transformation. 📊 The choice responds to a paradox that runs through the entire programme. African pension funds and insurers hold an estimated $775bn in assets, yet a large share of that money remains in government securities rather than infrastructure, agribusiness or manufacturing. Development finance institutions still accounted for 64% of private capital fundraising in Africa in 2025, and the hedging instruments available to companies rarely extend beyond 12 months. 🧭 Over 2 days, panels, strategic roundtables and CEO talks will take the theme into operational territory, from financing large M&A deals onshore in local currencies and bringing insurers into infrastructure to integrating stablecoins into mainstream banking. A Central Bank Governors panel will also address the regulatory course towards a single African currency and central bank, with a launch window set for 2028 to 2034. 👉 Discover the full theme, with the analysis behind it and the priorities that will shape the discussions in Luanda: https://lnkd.in/e4V-hK8i

🗞️ What if Africa's central banks could drive innovation, inclusion and regional integration without putting stability at risk? This week's AFIS 2026 video looks at how far their mandate has stretched. 🏦 For decades the job was inflation and financial stability. Governors are now also expected to build payment rails, regulate mobile money and digital assets, and carry part of the regional integration agenda. ⚡ The infrastructure is arriving. BCEAO launched PI-SPI, its interoperable instant payment platform for the 8 WAEMU countries, on 30 September 2025. By 24 June 2026, 80 institutions were connected, and banks, e-money issuers and payment institutions had until 30 September 2026 to open the service to their customers. 🌍 Cross-border settlement is moving too. BEAC joined PAPSS in July, taking the system to 30 countries and around 200 banks and fintechs. In Angola, the kwanza became the first currency added to the SADC real-time gross settlement system since its 2013 launch, announced in Pretoria by BNA governor Manuel António Tiago Dias and @Governor at South African Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago. 💱 On digital currency the posture is more measured. Nigeria's eNaira has been live since 2021, Ghana's eCedi is still in pilot, South Africa has kept Project Khokha on the wholesale side, and BCEAO (compte officiel) is working on a retail e-CFA. 🎙️ In Luanda on 3-4 November, central bank governors, finance ministers, fintech leaders and bank CEOs will discuss how far central banks can push innovation, inclusion and integration without loosening their grip on stability. AFIS 2026 is co-organised by Jeune Afrique Media Group, the Government of Angola (Governo Federal de Angola), and IFC - International Finance Corporation, a member of The World Bank Group. 🗞️ Learn more about the theme of this year’s edition → https://lnkd.in/e4V-hK8i

🎥 Manuel António Tiago Dias, Governor of the Banco Nacional de Angola, invites Africa's financial decision-makers to Luanda on 3 and 4 November for the 5th edition of AFIS. 🏛️ Angola comes to this edition as host after several years spent reworking the foundations of its financial system. The Governor points to major reforms designed to strengthen financial stability, modernise the country's regulatory and institutional framework and consolidate the infrastructure the economy relies on, singling out the national payment system. 🎯 He sets out the direction of travel in his own words: Angola aims "to build a financial sector that is able to support the long-term development of our economy and contribute to the continent's financial momentum." 🤝 Organised by Jeune Afrique Media Group and IFC - International Finance Corporation (The World Bank Group), AFIS brings banks, insurers, fintechs, capital market operators, regulators and governments into the same room to work through the transformations reshaping African finance. For the Governor, Luanda offers a chance to share national experiences, strengthen dialogue between the continent's financial players and build solutions together for Africa's future. 📅 Join Manuel António Tiago Dias and the leaders of African finance in Luanda on 3 and 4 November 2026. 🎟️ Register now: https://lnkd.in/eT5QQBeQ

📣 A new wave of 16 leaders from banking, insurance, development finance, private capital and fintech has confirmed attendance at AFIS 2026, taking place in Luanda on 3–4 November. 🏦 The host country's financial sector features prominently in this new group. Dr Isabel Espírito Santo, CEO of Banco Millennium Atlântico since 2025, will be joined by Agostinho Kapaia, who founded OPAIA GROUP in 2002 and leads it as Chairman and CEO. 🌍 Development finance institutions form a strong contingent, from Solomon Adegbie-Quaynor of the African Development Bank Group and Dr. Olasupo Olusi of Nigeria's Bank of Industry Limited to 2 European investors active across the continent: FMO, led by Michael Jongeneel, and Swedfund International, through its CIO Marie Aglert. 🏛️ Zenith Bank Plc, Dashen Bank and FirstRand bring the commercial banking perspective, with Bydon Longwe overseeing FNB and RMB operations in 8 African countries as FirstRand's Broader Africa CEO. Eric Rochereau KOUAGHU TCHUISSEU represents insurance supervision as Secretary General of CIMA, the regional insurance regulator for its West and Central African member states. 📱 On the digital side, GELEBART Erwan runs AXIAN Group's fintech division, home to the MVola and Mixx Sénégal mobile money services, while Jyoti Ball leads Amazon Web Services (AWS) in sub-Saharan Africa and Abdoul Aziz Ndao heads Polytechs. 📈 Private capital and advisory complete the line-up with Cyrille NKontchou, co-founder of Enko Capital and founder of the pan-African investment bank LiquidAfrica, Cyrille ONANA, founder of Horus Investment Group, and Abdou Souleye Diop of Forvis Mazars Group. 🗓️ They will join more than 1,250 senior decision-makers at the first AFIS held in Southern Africa and the first edition in a Portuguese-speaking country. More names will be announced in the coming weeks. 🌍 AFIS is organised by Jeune Afrique Media Group in partnership with the Government of Angola (Governo Federal de Angola) and IFC - International Finance Corporation (The World Bank Group). 👉 Register now: https://lnkd.in/egzwgS-m

🗞️ What if Africa's insurers became the continent's next infrastructure investors? This week's AFIS 2026 video follows where their capital actually goes. 📊 African insurers hold between $380 billion and $400 billion in assets, La Société africaine de réassurance (Africa Re) group managing director Corneille Karekezi said in Kigali at the Africa CEO Forum in May, with almost none of it invested in infrastructure. Around 70% of that total is life business, the longest-dated money on the continent. 🏗️ Africa Re puts the continent's annual infrastructure requirement at $130 billion to $170 billion, against some $80 billion mobilised. ⚖️ Regulation explains much of the gap. As Karekezi put it, "an insurance company, when they invest in long-term projects, they have a capital charge and also their liquidity profile may drop". Add the shortage of de-risking instruments, currency mismatches on projects that earn in local currency, and the risk of projects stalling before they become operational. 💡 Workable structures do exist. In May 2025, Sun King closed an $80 million facility with IFC and Stanbic IBTC Bank, fully naira-denominated, to expand pay-as-you-go solar access in Nigeria. IFC provided $50 million of it, and the naira structure removed the currency mismatch. Blended finance and guarantees are doing comparable work elsewhere. 🎙️ In Luanda on 3-4 November, insurers, regulators and infrastructure leaders will examine how to make these models replicable, and how to move African insurers beyond the 1% of assets they currently allocate to infrastructure. AFIS 2026 is co-organised by Jeune Afrique Media Group, the Government of Angola (Governo Federal de Angola), and IFC - International Finance Corporation a member of The World Bank Group. 🎟️ Register now: https://lnkd.in/eT5QQBeQ