Africa PPP Summit Returns to Kenya as Continent-wide Push for Infrastructure Investment Intensifies

The Africa PPP Infrastructure Finance, Investment & Partnerships Summit (Africa PPP 2026) is coming to Kenya this November, bringing together governments, investors, financiers and infrastructure developers from over 20 countries to discuss how the continent can unlock more private capital for infrastructure. This is the second time that the event is hosted by an East African country after the successful third edition of 2011.

The 16^th edition will take place at the JW Marriott Hotel in Nairobi from November 11-13, at a time when African governments are under growing pressure to deliver infrastructure while facing increasingly constrained public finances. The forum will be held under the theme, “Building Africa’s Prosperity: Transformative Infrastructure, Investment and Partnerships to Accelerate Economic Development.”

Hosted by Kenya’s Public Private Partnerships Directorate and organised by AME Trade Limited, with support from Kenya’s State Department for Public Investments and Assets Management, the summit will focus on the practical steps needed to turn Africa’s infrastructure ambitions into projects that can attract investment, reach financial close and move into construction.

The choice of Kenya as the host comes as the country seeks to strengthen its own framework for private participation in infrastructure, with the PPP Directorate beginning public consultations on proposed changes to its legal and regulatory framework. Kenya also provides a practical backdrop to discussions at the summit, with major infrastructure projects demonstrating both the scale of investment required and the opportunities for private capital. These include the planned expansion of the Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit road corridor led by the Kenya National Highways Authority, and the redevelopment of Berths 11-14 at the Port of Mombasa, being advanced through Kenya Ports Authority and the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority.

In the lead-up to the summit, a project preparation masterclass will provide practical guidance on preparing infrastructure projects for investment. The programme will be complemented throughout the event by direct project-investor engagement in a dedicated deal room, business breakfast and technical visits.

The emphasis on project preparation and direct investor engagement comes against the backdrop of a significant infrastructure financing challenge across the continent. Africa requires between $130 billion and $170 billion in infrastructure investment every year, but current financing falls short by between $68 billion and $108 billion annually. At the same time, the continent holds more than $4 trillion in domestic savings and assets, including funds held by banks, pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds.

Africa PPP 2026 will examine why these pools of capital are not flowing into infrastructure at the scale required, and what governments and project sponsors can do to change this. The discussions will focus on transaction readiness, bankable projects, blended finance, domestic capital mobilisation and commercially sustainable approaches to infrastructure delivery.

The summit will also examine how governments and private investors can better manage the risks that have historically constrained infrastructure investment, including currency volatility, political and regulatory risk, demand uncertainty, construction risk, changing interest rates and weak project preparation.

Further discussions will place infrastructure finance within the wider continental agenda of regional integration and African trade, examining how better-connected infrastructure can support intra-African commerce, strengthen regional value chains and accelerate economic development.

Notable speakers include:

• John Mbadi Ng’ongo, Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury and Economic Planning, Kenya
• Dean Macpherson, Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, South Africa
• Robert Lisinge, Director, Technology, Innovation, Connectivity and Infrastructure Division, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
• Tarik Hamane, Group CEO, National Office for Electricity and Drinking Water, Morocco (ONEE)
• Mesfin Tasew, Group CEO, Ethiopian Airlines
• Mary Porter Peschka, Regional Director for Eastern Africa, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
• David Sawyerr, Head for East and Southern Africa, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
• Wyckliffe Shamiah, Chief Executive Officer, Capital Markets Authority, Kenya
• John Paul Okwiri, Chief Executive Officer, Konza Technopolis Development Authority, Kenya
• Dr. John Deng Diar Diing, Executive Secretary, Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority
• Sara Mbago-Bhunu, Director, East and Southern Africa Division, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
• Government representatives, project owners, financiers, institutional investors, developers, transaction advisers and infrastructure stakeholders from across Africa and beyond

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