On November 3rd and 4th, Luanda will host the sixth edition of the Africa Financial Summit (AFIS). Organized by the Jeune Afrique Media Group, in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC)—a member of the World Bank Group—AFIS 2026 will be held under the theme “Making Capital Count: Driving Growth Through African Finance.” The summit will focus on how the continent’s financial sector can leverage its financial strength to provide greater support for economic growth and job creation.

The summit will address a core question for the African financial sector: having developed increasingly profitable and sophisticated institutions, how can the sector achieve the scale, reach, and capacity required to finance the next phase of the continent’s transformation?

FROM FINANCIAL STRENGTH TO ECONOMIC IMPACT

The African financial sector enters this new phase from a position of strength, yet significant financing gaps persist. Banking revenues surpassed $100 billion in 2024, with a return on equity of 19%, even as growth has slowed to approximately 5% per year. At the same time, loans account for only about 30% of banking assets across the continent—a reflection of capital allocation that remains insufficiently directed toward productive sectors. Millions of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) remain fragmented or operate within the informal sector, placing them outside the reach of traditional banking models. Mobilizing more private capital and channeling it into agriculture, industry, housing, infrastructure, and growing businesses will require deeper financial markets, new financing models, and broader access to credit.

Scale represents another dimension of this challenge. The 30 largest African banks hold approximately $1.2 trillion in assets—less than one-third of the combined balance sheets of their Latin American counterparts. While larger, better-capitalized institutions are often better positioned to take on greater risks and finance larger-scale projects, size alone will not be enough. The next generation of major African financial institutions will distinguish itself through the ability to combine scale, reach, sector-specific expertise, and cross-border operational capacity—all while remaining focused on the financing needs of African economies.

Recent initiatives, including the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD)—launched by the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group—underscore the need for greater coordination among national, regional, and continental institutions. The priority now is to mobilize and deploy African capital more effectively, ensuring that domestic resources are channeled into long-term, productive investments.

SIX PRIORITIES FOR THE NEXT DECADE OF AFRICAN FINANCE

• Finance in the service of the real economy – expanding financing for agriculture, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), housing, and infrastructure 
• Purpose-driven scale – evaluating consolidation based on the capacity to finance transformative projects, rather than merely on the size of the institutions;
• Technology adapted to African realities – developing artificial intelligence, digital banking, and financial technologies (fintech) based on African data and use cases;
• Transforming African savings into African investment – channeling capital from pension funds, insurance companies, and sovereign wealth funds into productive assets;
• Integration to achieve scale – strengthening cross-border payments and linkages between currently fragmented capital markets;
• Autonomy in setting financial rules – ensuring that prudential and risk-management frameworks remain tailored to African markets and technological evolution.

Taken together, these priorities frame the discussions that defined AFIS 2026 in Luanda. The summit program, now available online, brings the chosen theme to life and paves the way for a broader reflection on the role that African finance should play in the continent’s next decade of growth.

View the program: https://www.afis.africa/en/2026-annual-summit/2026-program/

A HIGH-LEVEL GATHERING OF AFRICAN FINANCIAL LEADERS

AFIS 2026 will bring together prominent figures from the African financial ecosystem, including Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of the IFC; Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, President of the BADEA; Serge Ekue, President of the BOAD (West African Development Bank); Charles Russon, Chief Executive for African Regions at Absa Africa Group; Edoh Kossi Amenounve, CEO of BRVM CI; Luis Lelis, CEO of BAI (Banco Angolano de Investimentos); Jeremy Awori, CEO of Ecobank Group; Mohamed Lamine Bah, CEO of SUNU Group; Mustafa Rawji, CEO of Rawbank; Cristina Dias Lourenço, CEO of BODIVA (Angola Debt and Securities Exchange); Temi Popoola, CEO of NGX Group (Nigerian Stock Exchange); George Agyekum Donkor, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the EBID; Isabel Espirito Santo, CEO of BMA (Banco Millennium Atlântico); and Abdeslam Alaoui Smaili, CEO of Hightech Payment Systems (HPS). Coura SENE, Regional Director at Wave, Mobile Money Group; Luís Roberto GONÇALVES, Chair of the Executive Committee at BFA – Banco de Fomento Angola; Patty KARUAIHE-MARTIN, Managing Director of NamibRe; Adamu LAWANI, Executive Director at Zenith Bank; Clement CHINAKA, Managing Director for the Rest of Africa at Old Mutual Ltd; Armando MANUEL, Chairman of the Board of Directors of FSDEA – Sovereign Wealth Fund of Angola; Ouafae MRIOUAH, Managing Director of Atlantic Re; Richard NZONLIE LOWE, Chairman and CEO of Activa Assurances; and Nasser SEDDIQI, Managing Director of the Casablanca Stock Exchange.

More speakers: https://www.afis.africa/en/2026-annual-summit/2026-speakers/

The summit will also feature the participation of 18 central bank governors and eight finance ministers from Africa and other regions, reflecting the high level of institutional representation at AFIS 2026.

Among them are Manuel Antonio Tiago Dias, Governor of the National Bank of Angola, representing the host country; Hassan Abdalla, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt; Lesetja Kganyago, Governor of the South African Reserve Bank; Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, Governor of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO); Yvon Sana Bangui, Governor of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC); Johnson Pandit Asiama, Governor of the Bank of Ghana; Denny H. Kalyalya, Governor of the Bank of Zambia; and Emmanuel Tutuba, Governor of the Bank of Tanzania.

Finance ministers in attendance will include Vera Daves de Sousa, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Angola, as well as ministers from Gabon, Guinea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Benin, and Senegal.

Amir Ben Yahmed, CEO of Jeune Afrique Media Group and founder of AFIS, stated: “The African financial sector has demonstrated its resilience. The challenge now is to transform this strength into investments that help businesses grow, create jobs, and finance the infrastructure our economies require. By bringing AFIS—for the first time—to Southern Africa and to a Lusophone country, we are broadening the dialogue and building the partnerships necessary for African capital to have a tangible impact.”

Ethiopis Tafara, IFC Regional Vice President for Africa, stated: “Each edition of AFIS generates greater ambitions and deeper partnerships. In Luanda, we aim to combine this ambition with these partnerships to mobilize capital on a large scale and drive a new era of employment and growth across Africa.”

By bringing together more than 1,250 leaders from the financial sector and policymakers, AFIS 2026 seeks to advance the discussion on how Africa’s financial strength can be translated into increased investment in the real economy, greater financial integration, and sustainable growth throughout the continent ABOUT THE AFRICA FINANCIAL SUMMIT (AFIS) Established by the Jeune Afrique Media Group in 2021, with the support of the IFC (World Bank Group), AFIS is a sister organization to the Africa CEO Forum— the leading platform dedicated to the African private sector. AFIS aims to contribute to the development of a robust financial sector that serves the real economy and sustainable development. By gathering the most influential figures and institutions in African finance, as well as regulators, AFIS works to strengthen financial inclusion and foster the emergence of a genuine pan-African financial services industry.

For more information, please visit https://www.afis.africa/fr/afis-2025/annual-summit

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION (IFC)

The International Finance Corporation (IFC)—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working in more than 100 countries, the IFC uses its capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities indeveloping economies. In the 2024 fiscal year, the IFC committed a record $56 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging private sector solutions and mobilizing private capital to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity on a livable planet. Learn more at www.ifc.org.

Media Contacts

Soukaina HARTI – s.harti@jeuneafrique.com

Thibaut CABRERA – t.cabrera.ext@jeuneafrique.com

AFIS 2026 will bring together more than 1,250 leaders and regulators from the African and international financial sectors in Luanda on November 3–4 to discuss how to more effectively mobilize African capital for productive investment, job creation, and long-term growth.

• For the first time, AFIS will be held in Southern Africa and in a Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) country, with Angola hosting the summit in Luanda.
• Under the theme “Making Capital Count: Driving Growth Through African Finance,” the summit will explore how Africa’s financial strength can be translated into greater financing for the real economy, more developed financial markets, and a more significant local impact.

NATIONAL DIRECTORATE FOR INFORMATION AND INSTITUTIONAL COMMUNICATION OF THE MINISTRY OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES, AND SOCIAL COMMUNICATION,

Luanda, October 19, 2026