AFC summit targets domestic capital to drive Africa’s industrial push

For the first time, Africa’s most powerful infrastructure financiers, fund managers, investors and industry leaders will convene in Nairobi, with a bold mandate to unlock domestic capital and turn the continent’s industrial ambitions into a tangible, job-creating reality.

Hosted by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), in partnership with the Government of Kenya, the inaugural Africa We Build Summit will take place from April 23 to 24,2026. Held under the theme “Infrastructure as the Engine of Industrialisation”, the Summit will convene decision-makers to originate and advance bankable projects, strengthen regional integration, and accelerate Africa’s industrial development.

At its core, The Africa We Build Summit 2026 signals a shift from standalone projects to integrated infrastructure systems. Sessions will explore regional corridor investments, expanded rail and port networks, cross-border energy systems, and the development of strategic minerals value chains.

William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya, will deliver the keynote address, underlining the highest-level commitment to advancing regional integration and large-scale industrial development.

A focus of the Summit is mobilising a greater share of Africa’s substantial domestic capital base towards bankable, globally competitive infrastructure and industrial opportunities.

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The Summit is underpinned by the launch of the “State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report 2026”, the most comprehensive analysis to date of Africa’s cross-continental investment landscape, interrogating investment gaps, capital flows, and priority project pipelines to directly inform capital deployment and project execution in support of “The Africa We Build” agenda.

Commenting ahead of the Summit, Samaila Zubairu, President and CEO of AFC, said: “Africa is not capital-poor; it is capital-trapped. The opportunity now is to channel that capital into infrastructure and industry at scale, transforming resources into productivity, jobs, and long-term prosperity.”

Anchored in bankable projects, investable pipelines, and execution-focused partnerships, The Africa We Build Summit is designed as a delivery platform. Initiatives such as the Lobito Corridor and new national infrastructure financing vehicles, such as the Kenya National Infrastructure Fund, demonstrate what is possible when capital, policy, and projects are aligned. These programmes aim to build integrated economic ecosystems that connect resources to energy, logistics, processing, and markets.

Recognising the East African Community as one of the continent’s most dynamic regional blocs, the Summit will spotlight priority regional corridors such as the Northern Corridor, linking the Port of Mombasa to Uganda, Rwanda, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and South Sudan, alongside complementary routes connecting ports and coastal assets to the hinterland. Discussions will focus on regional connectivity in road and rail, including upgrades along key cross-border highways, and advance a broader East African Railway Master Plan.

A central theme will be the linkage between power and minerals, with an emphasis on value addition rather than mere extraction, to ensure that infrastructure investments deliver long-term economic transformation.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.