The Financial Times has announced the 13th edition of its flagship Africa Summit, taking place on 21-22 October 2026 at The Landmark, London.
Under the theme “Mobilising Growth in a New Global Order,” the summit will convene African Heads of State, policymakers, chief executives, investors and next-generation entrepreneurs to examine how the continent can sustain its growth trajectory amid shifting trade alliances, technological change and a reordering of global power.
This year’s high-level speaker line-up includes Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive, Dangote Group; Macky Sall, Former President, Republic of Senegal; Jakaya Kikwete, Former President of the United Republic of Tanzania; Baroness Jennifer Chapman, Minister of State (International Development and Africa), Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, United Kingdom; Taiwo Oyedele, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Nigeria; and Ahmed Shide, Minister of Finance, Ethiopia, alongside ministers and business leaders from South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Angola, Mauritius, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The 2026 summit takes place at a time of profound change in the global trading system. Shifting US tariff policy and the approaching expiry of the African Growth and Opportunity Act are prompting African governments and businesses to deepen regional trade, strengthen ties with the Gulf, China and India, and build greater financial self-reliance.
From domestic capital mobilisation and the evolving role of development finance institutions to major offshore energy discoveries, critical minerals diplomacy and the expansion of the digital economy, the 2026 summit will examine how African nations are turning structural change into lasting growth. The programme will also spotlight the continent’s manufacturing ambitions, its fast-urbanising cities, and the demographic shift that will give Africa the world’s largest working-age population by 2050.
The discussions will be facilitated by senior editors from the Financial Times and will feature insight-driven dialogue across geopolitics, finance, energy, infrastructure, trade, technology and investment.
FT Africa editor David Pilling said: “Now in its 13th year, the FT Africa Summit brings together the leaders, investors and innovators shaping the continent’s economic future. As Africa’s growth begins to outpace much of the world, this year’s agenda examines how governments and businesses can mobilise the capital, infrastructure and partnerships needed to translate that growth into lasting progress.”
FT foreign editor Alec Russell added: “Africa is navigating one of the most consequential shifts in the global economic order in a generation. As long-standing trading certainties give way and new alliances form, the FT summit offers a forum for candid dialogue on the continent’s challenges and fresh thinking on the investment, trade and innovation that will define its next chapter.”
London’s role as a global centre for finance and international affairs makes it a natural meeting point for the African and global stakeholders brought together by the FT Africa Summit. By convening policymakers, investors, development institutions and business leaders in one place, the summit connects perspectives from across the continent with the wider conversations on capital, trade and partnership that are central to Africa’s next phase of growth.
