Luanda to host Africa Financial Summit 2026 in first for Southern Africa

Luanda will host the 2026 edition of the Africa Financial Summit (AFIS), marking the first time the continent’s leading finance gathering will be held in Southern Africa and in a Portuguese-speaking country.

Organisers announced that the summit will take place on November 3 and 4, bringing together more than 1,250 financial sector leaders, including bankers, insurers, fintech executives, regulators, pension fund managers and investors, as Africa intensifies efforts to deepen financial integration and mobilise capital for growth.

Created in 2021 by Jeune Afrique Media Group and International Finance Corporation, AFIS has evolved into one of the continent’s major platforms for financial policy dialogue and deal-making.

The choice of Angola reflects growing confidence in the country’s economic reforms and ambitions to position itself as a regional financial hub. With an estimated GDP of $115 billion, Angola is currently among Africa’s 10 largest economies and has accelerated reforms targeting banking modernisation, digital finance, capital market development and economic diversification.

Organisers said the summit comes at a time when African economies are grappling with tightening global financing conditions and increasing calls for a new continental financial architecture capable of mobilising local resources and reducing dependence on external capital.

Angola’s financial reforms in focus

According to the organisers, Angola’s expanding infrastructure investments, efforts to strengthen the Angolan Stock Exchange (BODIVA), and participation in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) free trade area have increased its attractiveness to international investors.
The summit is expected to focus on financing African economies through local capital mobilisation, digital transformation, stronger financial institutions and deeper continental integration.

“AFIS is today a leading forum for finance in Africa. Few events offer such an opportunity to bring together the entire ecosystem and work collectively,” said Manuel Antonio Tiago Dias, governor of the National Bank of Angola.

“It is both a key and strategic forum, a unique space for collaboration, a place for constructive discussions on the continent’s major challenges, and an event marked by well-organized and impactful moments.”

Building Africa’s financial sovereignty

Organisers said AFIS has increasingly become a platform for practical engagement among banks, insurers, fintechs, regulators and development institutions seeking solutions to Africa’s financing challenges.

Amir Ben Yahmed, chief executive officer of Jeune Afrique Media Group and founder of AFIS, said the summit now plays a strategic role in shaping the future of African finance.

“The Africa Financial Summit is much more than an event. It has become a leading platform where regulators and financial players jointly build the future of African finance,” he said.

“This first edition in Southern Africa shines a spotlight on Angola, a market undergoing liberalization with considerable potential. It offers participants the opportunity to forge decisive alliances for the regional economy.”

Ethiopis Tafara, IFC vice-president for Africa, also emphasised the summit’s role in mobilising investment for economic growth across the continent.

“At AFIS, we bring together African financial leaders to turn ambition into action, by mobilizing private capital to create jobs, strengthen resilience, and support the continent’s growth,” Tafara said.

The 2026 summit in Luanda follows previous editions hosted in Lomé and Casablanca, further extending AFIS’s continental footprint as African governments and institutions push for stronger regional financial cooperation.