The Africa Financial Summit (AFIS) has announced that its 2026 annual meeting will take place in Luanda, Angola, on November 3 and 4. The event is expected to bring together over 1,250 senior leaders from the financial sector, including bankers, insurers, fintech executives, and regulators. This will be the first time the summit will be held in Southern Africa and marks its debut in a Lusophone country. The summit aims to promote financial-sector reforms and modernization in Angola.
The 2026 AFIS gathering will focus on several key themes, including mobilizing domestic capital, expanding cross-border financial integration, accelerating digital transformation, and strengthening African financial institutions. The summit will feature discussions on banking, capital markets, insurance, fintech, and digital finance, as well as financial-sector regulation and economic conditions. The event will also include the AFIS-Deloitte Barometer, which will examine confidence among African financial executives, AI investment, risk exposure, and sustainable finance.
Angola is positioning itself as an emerging financial hub as it reforms its banking industry, expands capital markets, and seeks to diversify its economy beyond oil. The country's gross domestic product is estimated to be around $115 billion, making it the continent's seventh-largest economy. The Angolan Stock Exchange and Derivatives (BODIVA) is playing a growing role in the country's capital-market development, while infrastructure investment and Angola's participation in the Southern African Development Community are increasing the country's regional financial links.
The summit will feature a range of high-profile speakers, including IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop, African Development Bank President Sidi Ould Tah, and Angola's Finance Minister Vera Daves de Sousa. Other speakers include Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, governor of the Central Bank of West African States, and Kenya Capital Markets Authority Chief Executive Officer Wyckliffe Shamiah. The event is expected to provide a platform for financial-sector leaders to collaborate on the continent's major challenges.
AFIS is also expected to use the summit to advance its agenda for mobilizing more local and regional capital at a time when African governments and companies face tighter access to international financing. The financial sector plays a critical role in mobilizing domestic capital at scale into productive sectors, notably through transactions in local currency. By partnering with financial institutions and sharing risk, AFIS aims to unlock more financing for SMEs and productive investments.
The summit's organizer, Jeune Afrique Media Group, and the International Finance Corp. (IFC) are co-hosting the event. AFIS was founded in 2021 to bring together African financial-industry leaders and policymakers. The summit's action framework sets 11 targets for banks, insurers, capital-markets firms, fintech companies, regulators, and governments, with a 2030-2035 horizon. The IFC has supported AFIS since its creation and will continue to play a key role in the summit.
The Africa Financial Summit 2026 will provide an opportunity for financial-sector leaders to collaborate on the continent's major challenges. Angola's central bank governor, Manuel Antonio Tiago Dias, said the summit would shine a spotlight on Angola's financial reforms and provide a platform for international scrutiny. AFIS founder and Jeune Afrique Media Group Chief Executive Officer Amir Ben Yahmed said the move to Luanda expands the summit's geographic reach and highlights Angola's considerable potential.
Key points
- The Africa Financial Summit 2026 will focus on mobilizing domestic capital, expanding cross-border financial integration, and accelerating digital transformation.
- The summit aims to promote financial-sector reforms and modernization in Angola.
- The event will feature over 1,250 senior leaders from the financial sector, including bankers, insurers, fintech executives, and regulators.
