The FT Africa Summit 2026 Is the Conversation Africa Cannot Afford to Miss

The Financial Times has announced the 13th edition of its flagship Africa Summit , taking place on 21 and 22 October 2026 at The Landmark, London. Under the theme Mobilising Growth in a New Global Order, it brings together African heads of state, policymakers, chief executives, investors and next-generation entrepreneurs to ask one central question: how does Africa sustain its growth momentum when the global order is shifting beneath everyone's feet?

It is a question with real urgency in 2026, and this summit is where the serious answers will be sought.

Why This Edition of the FT Africa Summit Matters More Than Most

The timing of this year's summit is not incidental. Shifting US tariff policy and the approaching expiry of the African Growth and Opportunity Act are already prompting African governments and businesses to rethink their economic relationships, deepening regional trade, building stronger ties with the Gulf, China and India and pursuing greater financial self-reliance at home.

Against that backdrop, the conversations at The Landmark in October carry real weight. Domestic capital mobilisation, the evolving role of development finance institutions, major offshore energy discoveries, critical minerals diplomacy and the rapid expansion of Africa's digital economy are all on the agenda. So is the continent's manufacturing ambition, its fast-urbanising cities and the demographic reality that Africa will have the world's largest working-age population by 2050.

These are not abstract discussions. They are the decisions being made right now, and the FT Africa Summit is where many of the people making them will be in the same room.

A Speaker Line-Up That Reflects Africa's Reach

The 2026 speaker roster signals the level of the conversation. Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group, brings the private sector perspective of Africa's most closely watched industrialist. Former presidents Macky Sall of Senegal and Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania add the weight of long-term continental leadership. On the policy side, Taiwo Oyedele, Nigeria's Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, and Ahmed Shide, Ethiopia's Minister of Finance, represent two of the continent's most economically significant nations.

Baroness Jennifer Chapman, the UK's Minister of State for International Development and Africa, rounds out a line-up that also draws ministers and business leaders from South Africa, Angola, Rwanda, Mauritius, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The discussions will be facilitated by senior Financial Times editors across geopolitics, finance, energy, infrastructure, trade, technology and investment.

What the FT's Own Editors Are Saying

FT Africa editor David Pilling framed the summit's purpose clearly. "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 a sharper edge. 

"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 as the Meeting Point

The choice of London as host is deliberate. As a global hub for finance and international affairs, it draws together African and global stakeholders in a way that few other cities can. For investors, development institutions and business leaders looking to understand where Africa is headed and how to be part of that trajectory, the FT Africa Summit has become the forum worth being in.

The 13th edition takes place on 21 and 22 October 2026 at The Landmark, London.

To register for a delegate pass, or to apply for media accreditation, visit africa.live.ft.com