Where Africa designs the capital markets that will finance its sustainable future.
The Third Sustainable Capital Markets Conference convenes CEOs and senior executives across Africa's financial ecosystem, including banks, pension funds, capital market authorities, DFIs, asset managers, and market infrastructure providers, to address the structural barriers that prevent capital from moving into long-term, productive investment.
Over two days, leaders take part in closed-door executive dialogue, strategic panels, fireside conversations, and action-oriented breakout labs, closing with the Africa Capital Markets Compact.
Format
Dialogue, panels & decision labs
Who
CEOs & senior market leaders
Closes with
The Africa Capital Markets Compact
The closing instrument
The Africa Capital Markets Compact
A voluntary, market-led declaration of priority reforms, transaction commitments, and institutional collaborations. It marks the point where dialogue becomes commitment.
12–24 mo
Theme & context
Africa does not lack capital. It lacks the systems that move capital from where it sits to where it is needed.
$6.5T
Projected African assets under management by 2040, driven by the shift to defined-contribution pensions.
70%
Africa's elevated debt servicing pressures reflect external debt of around 26.6% of GDP, with about 70% held in the public and publicly guaranteed portfolio, limiting fiscal flexibility.
↓ 2018
Foreign direct investment into Africa has declined consistently since 2018.
12–24mo
The action horizon for commitments made under the Africa Capital Markets Compact.
Momentum without infrastructure
Over the past decade, capital markets across the continent have matured. Pension assets have grown, debt markets have expanded, and interest in thematic instruments has risen. The foundations are in place, but the architecture for moving that capital into long-term productive investment remains incomplete.
A significant gap
A significant gap persists between available capital and investable, long-term opportunities. Structural constraints remain entrenched: fragmented regulation, limited project pipelines, shallow secondary markets, and a persistent mismatch between the risk appetite of local institutional investors and the risk profile of available instruments.
Capital in search of systems
Africa's domestic institutional savings base is growing faster than at any point in its history. This capital is long-term and local-currency-denominated, precisely matched to the horizons that infrastructure, climate, and MSME finance demand. The question is no longer whether the capital exists, but whether the systems exist to allocate it.
"From Capital to Allocation" is not a description of what the conference is. It is what the conference must achieve.
Objectives & outcomes
What this conference sets out to achieve.
Event objectives
01Mobilise African institutional capital into infrastructure, climate, MSMEs, and other real economy sectors.
02Strengthen collaboration across the market ecosystem to accelerate transaction development, execution, and investment.
03Showcase scalable financing solutions, including thematic bonds, blended finance, securitisation, guarantees, and portfolio transfers.
04Advance policy and market reforms that enable long-term capital formation and a stronger pipeline of investable opportunities.
Anticipated outcomes
A shared Africa Capital Markets Compact outlining collective priorities, commitments, and next steps for market development.
Agreed actions to strengthen capital mobilisation, including priority financing structures, partnerships, and market reforms.
New opportunities to mobilise domestic capital for infrastructure, climate, MSMEs, and the real economy.
Programme
Draft two-day agenda
Tap any session to expand. Day One diagnoses what prevents capital from moving; Day Two turns diagnoses into decisions.
Speakers
Meet the leaders shaping Africa's capital markets.
Selected confirmed speakers. More to be announced.
News & media
Outcomes, recordings & coverage.
Goes live after the conference
Outcomes
Post-event · Sept 2026
The Africa Capital Markets Compact
The five priority reforms, transaction types to scale, and named partnerships agreed by speakers.
Read the compact →
Publication
Launching at the event
FSD Africa Capital Markets Publication 2026
The flagship data and analysis grounding the conference, launched live on Day One.
Download report →
Media
Available after sessions
Session recordings & keynotes
Watch the opening keynote, executive dialogues, and case-study panels on demand.
Watch now →
Gallery
Updated throughout
Conference photo gallery
Highlights from two days of convening across Africa's financial ecosystem in Nairobi.
View gallery →
Previous editions
Building on two editions of convening Africa's capital markets leaders.
