Panel | Mobilising domestic savings into the local economies: What’s stopping institutional investors?
African institutional investor (pension funds and deposit and consignment funds) assets now exceed $230 billion. Yet less than 10% of pension funds is invested in domestic capital markets outside South Africa and Nigeria – and just 1.5% in infrastructure or alternatives. In Uganda, listed equities represent under 1% of institutional holdings despite pension assets equalling […]
MASTERCLASS CYBASTION | Cyber Insurance and Digital Security in Africa
As digital transformation accelerates across Africa, private sector organizations—particularly financial institutions— are facing a sharp rise in cyber threats, with significant economic and operational consequences. According to INTERPOL’s report on digital risks in Africa, cyber incidents have led to estimated financial losses exceeding $3 billion between 2019 and 2025, with the finance, healthcare, energy, and public sectors among […]
Insurance Supervisors Panel | How to tackle Africa’s sub 3% insurance penetration rates?
Just over two-thirds of African insurance CEOs surveyed by ContinentalRe say penetration rates do not matter to them, revealing a troubling disconnect between market behaviour and public policy priorities. African insurance penetration (2.4% for life; 1.1% for non-life) is below global norms, and much lower outside South Africa, leaving millions exposed to climate, health, and […]
AFIS Steering Committee
Side Event CDG Capital – Bourse de Casablanca: Confidence, innovation, sovereignity: Morocco as the crossway of African finance
Access via sign-up on the event app or by invitation only. English-French translation available. Morocco is asserting itself as a major regional financial hub, developing solutions tailored to African realities and capable of inspiring the entire continent. With market infrastructures designed to protect investors and strengthen confidence, and the implementation of innovative financing mechanisms driven […]
Strategic Roundtable | Microfinance: Breaking free from debt-driven models
Access via sign-up on the event app or by invitation only. English-French translation available. Microfinance institutions (MFIs) face a regulatory divide across Africa: some can collect deposits, others are restricted to lending – shaping how they serve clients and fuel growth. In credit-only markets, MFIs must turn to alternative sources of capital, such as loans, […]
Panel | From dry ports to deep waters: Financing inland corridors and trade access for landlocked countries
With 16 landlocked countries – more than any other continent – Africa must urgently scale up investment in trade corridors linking its interior to seaports. These connections are costly – the Lobito Corridor alone requires up to $2.3bn – and better integration between intra-African trade routes and global markets remains a challenge. But innovative blended […]
Central Bank Governors Panel | A new global equation: Where can Africa turn for critical finance?
“The world as we know it has changed for aid, trade and development,” says the Director-General of the World Trade Organization. Sub-Saharan Africa nations this year face a 16-28% decline in official development assistance; pressure from trade tariffs, and a serious liquidity crunch and foreign currency shortage for commercial banks. Where will funding come from […]
Opening Panel | Unlocking Africa’s financial power: Time to mobilize domestic capital at scale
“External dependency is not a good development strategy,” warns AfDB in its 2025 economic outlook. Despite last year’s 75% FDI surge, leaner times loom as US tariffs and geopolitical rifts trigger aid cuts and subdue global economic activity. Africa must look within to trillions in untapped domestic capital – in pension funds, sovereign wealth vehicles, […]
Disrupters Club Panel | Co-designing AI-driven MSME finance with bank, fintech and MFI partnerships
Bank–fintech and microfinance institution (MFI) collaborations delivering digital banking, credit and payment products to Africa’s 44 million MSMEs live or die by how they’re structured. Some have collapsed due to profit sharing disputes and competitive tensions. Others, like Safaricom and NCBA’s M-Shwari have been vastly successful. Agreeing on profit and data sharing, allocating liability for […]