Angola hosts Africa Financial Summit to boost regional finance ties

African woman in a pink suit counting money seriously at an office desk, showcasing work and finance. Photo: MART PRODUCTION/Pexels

The Africa Financial Summit will convene in Luanda on Nov. 3 and 4, drawing more than 1,250 senior finance leaders, regulators and investors.

Summit details and attendance

The event will be held in Southern Africa for the first time and marks its debut in a Lusophone country.

The gathering was launched in 2021 by Jeune Afrique Media Group together with the International Finance Corp. to unite African financial executives and policymakers.

Agenda items include mobilizing domestic capital, expanding cross-border financial integration, accelerating digital transformation and strengthening African financial institutions.

AFIS says more than 1,250 senior leaders are expected to attend, including bankers, insurers, fintech executives, capital-markets specialists, regulators and pension-fund representatives.

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 national exchange, 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.

Key speakers slated for Luanda include Makhtar Diop of the IFC, African Development Bank President Sidi Ould Tah, Finance Minister Vera Daves de Sousa, and DRC Finance Minister Doudou Roussel Linkunde Li-Botayi.

Additional participants include Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, governor of the Central Bank of West African States, and Serge Ekué, president of the West African Development Bank.

“The financial sector plays a critical role in mobilizing domestic capital at scale into productive sectors, notably through transactions in local currency,” said Manuel Moses, chief executive of the African Trade Insurance Agency.

The program will also host the AFIS-Deloitte Barometer, assessing confidence among African finance executives, AI investment trends, risk exposure and sustainable-finance practices.

Angola’s central bank governor, Manuel Antonio Tiago Dias, said the meeting offers a platform for leaders to collaborate on continent-wide challenges.

The International Finance Corp. will co-host the event, which aligns with AFIS’s new action framework targeting banks, insurers, capital-markets firms, fintechs, regulators and governments through 2030-2035.