UNGA: Financing Africa’s Future, organised by Invest Africa, convenes on the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, 24 September 2026 in New York. The half-day forum — subtitled “Financing Africa’s Critical Minerals & Energy Infrastructure Investment” — brings government leaders, DFIs, U.S. financiers, global investors, multilateral organisations and private-sector stakeholders into one room to work through what’s actually slowing capital from reaching African infrastructure.
H.E. Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, President of the Republic of Namibia, headlines as Guest of Honour. Africa Finance Corporation joins as Headline Partner, with Standard Chartered as Knowledge Partner and host.
Why This Forum Matters
Africa sits at the centre of several overlapping global transitions right now — critical minerals allocation, supply chain diversification, energy security, digital infrastructure build-out. Global liquidity searching for a home isn’t the constraint. The gap, as the forum frames it, sits between investor perception and actual risk, between projects and bankability, and between capital that exists and capital that actually gets mobilised and deployed.
Running the conversation in New York during UNGA week is deliberate. It puts African government leaders in the same room as the U.S. financiers, sovereign wealth funds and multilaterals they need to reach, on the sidelines of the one week a year when that audience is already gathered in one city.
Key Themes & Discussions
The forum is built around a practical, investor-facing agenda rather than a broad policy conversation:
- Critical Minerals & Supply Chains: Positioning Africa’s mineral wealth within shifting global supply chains.
- Energy Security & Infrastructure: Financing the power and infrastructure base underneath industrialisation.
- Project Bankability: Closing the gap between investor risk perception and the actual risk profile of African projects.
- Capital Mobilisation & Deployment: Financing models and structures that have successfully attracted direct and indirect investment.
- Public-Private Partnerships: What’s required to make infrastructure investment-ready at scale.
Who Should Attend
The forum convenes a senior, capital-facing audience:
- Institutional Investors: Sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and asset managers evaluating African exposure.
- Development Finance Institutions: DFIs and multilaterals active in African infrastructure financing.
- Commercial Banks & Private Equity: Firms structuring and financing infrastructure deals.
- Policymakers & Government Leaders: African government representatives shaping investment frameworks.
- Strategic Corporates: Companies operating across mining, energy, manufacturing, agribusiness, technology and industrial sectors.
Key Details
- Event: UNGA: Financing Africa’s Future
- Date: Thursday, 24 September 2026, 08:00–11:30
- Venue: New York, United States (held on the margins of the 81st UN General Assembly)
- Organiser: Invest Africa
- Guest of Honour: H.E. Dr. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, President of the Republic of Namibia
- Headline Partner: Africa Finance Corporation
- Knowledge Partner & Host: Standard Chartered
- Registration: Register your interest — space is limited
Why TACR Readers Should Attend
For Investors & DFIs:
This is a working session, not a ceremonial one — the explicit focus is on financing structures and bankability, not general Africa-optimism panels. If your mandate covers minerals, energy or infrastructure, this is where the practical mechanics of getting African deals investment-ready are being worked through with the people who actually write the cheques.
For African Governments & Policymakers:
With a sitting head of state as Guest of Honour and DFIs, multilaterals and U.S. financiers in the room, this is a direct channel to the capital allocators governments need to reach — compressed into a single morning during the one week international attention is already concentrated on New York.
For Corporates in Mining, Energy & Infrastructure:
The sector list is specific — mining, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, agribusiness, technology, industrial. If your business sits in any of these and you’re seeking project finance or strategic partners, this is a room built around exactly that conversation.
Registration Information
- Register your interest: events.investafrica.com
- Partnership opportunities: info@investafrica.com
- Details: investafrica.com
TACR View: The framing here is worth noting — this isn’t pitched as “why Africa needs capital,” it’s pitched as “why capital that already wants in isn’t getting deployed.” That’s a more honest starting point than most UNGA-week Africa panels manage, and a harder one to deliver on in three and a half hours.
See you in New York.
