What's Happening?
Infrastructure Africa 2026, scheduled to take place in Cape Town from March 2-3, 2026, aims to tackle the continent's significant infrastructure financing gap, estimated at USD 68 billion to USD 108 billion annually.
The event will bring together governments, project developers, investors, development finance institutions, and the private sector to explore solutions for unlocking finance for Africa's cross-border infrastructure projects. The focus will be on advancing bankable, investment-ready regional infrastructure projects critical to trade, mobility, and shared prosperity. Despite Africa's strong repayment track record, financing large-scale, multi-country projects remains constrained by perceived risk, fragmented regulatory environments, and limited coordination among borrowers.
Why It's Important?
The Infrastructure Africa 2026 event is crucial for addressing the continent's infrastructure financing gap, which poses a significant barrier to achieving the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA). By focusing on project preparation and bankability, the event aims to unlock private capital at scale, which is essential for strengthening Africa's cross-border infrastructure networks. This, in turn, will enable trade expansion, industrialization, job creation, and inclusive economic growth across the continent. The event serves as a platform for policy, finance, and project execution to converge, supporting action-driven partnerships that advance Africa's priority infrastructure corridors from concept to construction.
What's Next?
Infrastructure Africa 2026 will emphasize project preparation and bankability, examining how robust feasibility studies, risk mitigation tools, blended finance structures, and public-private partnerships can unlock private capital at scale. The program will explore the role of development finance institutions, regional economic communities, and corridor-based planning in de-risking cross-border investments and accelerating project implementation. By convening decision-makers from across the public and private sectors, the event aims to move beyond high-level dialogue and support action-driven partnerships that advance Africa's priority infrastructure corridors from concept to construction.
