Africa PPP Summit Returns to Kenya as Infrastructure Investment Drive Intensifies
By Shadrack Mutai | NAIROBI,
The 16th edition of the Africa PPP Infrastructure Finance, Investment and Partnerships Summit will be held from 11 to 13 November 2026 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Nairobi. This is the second time Kenya is hosting the event after the successful third edition in 2011.
The summit is hosted by Kenya’s Public Private Partnerships Directorate. It is organised by AME Trade Limited with support from the State Department for Public Investments and Assets Management. It will run under the theme, Building Africa’s Prosperity: Transformative Infrastructure, Investment and Partnerships to Accelerate Economic Development.
This year’s forum comes at a critical time. African governments are under pressure to deliver infrastructure with constrained public finances. The continent needs up to 170 billion dollars annually for infrastructure. Yet there is a financing gap of up to 108 billion dollars every year.
This gap exists even though Africa holds over 4 trillion dollars in domestic assets. These are held by banks, pension funds, insurers and sovereign wealth funds. The summit will explore why this capital is not flowing into infrastructure. It will focus on how to turn more projects into bankable opportunities that can attract private capital.
Discussions will centre on practical solutions. These include transaction readiness, blended finance, and domestic capital mobilisation. The summit will also look at how to better manage risks such as currency volatility, regulatory uncertainty and weak project preparation. It will connect infrastructure finance to the wider agenda of regional integration and intra-African trade.
Kenya offers a relevant backdrop for these discussions. The PPP Directorate has started public consultations on changes to the legal and regulatory framework. The country also has major projects that show both need and opportunity. These include the planned expansion of the Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit road corridor and the redevelopment of Berths 11 to 14 at the Port of Mombasa.
The programme will be highly practical. It will start with a project preparation masterclass. It will also feature a dedicated deal room for direct project-investor engagement, a business breakfast and technical visits.
The summit has drawn a strong high-level panel. Hon. John Mbadi Ng’ongo, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning, and Hon. Dean Macpherson, South Africa’s Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, will provide insights on government policy.
They will be joined by leaders from key continental institutions. These include Robert Lisinge from UNECA and Eng. Tarik Hamane, Group CEO of Morocco’s ONEE. From the transport sector, Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mesfin Tasew and Northern Corridor Authority Executive Secretary Eng. Dr. John Deng Diar Diing will speak on connectivity.
Financing and investment perspectives will come from Mary Porter Peschka, Regional Director for Eastern Africa at IFC, and David Sawyerr, Head for East and Southern Africa at MIGA. They will be joined by Wyckliffe Shamiah, CEO of Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority, John Paul Okwiri, CEO of Konza Technopolis, and Sara Mbago-Bhunu, Director at IFAD.
Government representatives, project owners, developers and advisers from over 20 countries are expected to attend. Africa PPP 2026 will be a key platform for moving projects from ambition to financial close.
