Green projects across Africa are seeking roughly US$3.09 billion in funding as investors prepare to engage with a curated pipeline of climate solutions at the Africa Green Economy Summit (AGES) 2026, organisers said.
The summit, scheduled to take place in Cape Town, will showcase projects spanning more than 25 countries, covering early-stage small and medium enterprises as well as expansion and infrastructure initiatives. Sectors highlighted include renewable energy, waste management, circular economy solutions, sustainable agriculture, the blue economy, and nature-based projects.
AGES is designed to accelerate financing through targeted pitch sessions, investor briefings, and curated one-to-one matchmaking aimed at aligning project developers with development finance institutions, commercial banks, venture funds, and specialist partners.
“AGES presents curated deal flow where catalytic investors can unlock both impact and return, from decentralised hydrogen manufacturing to circular industrial solutions and resilient food systems,” said Elodie Ashdown, Investment Project Lead at VUKA Group. “Now is the moment to mobilise blended capital and turn validated pilots into regional industries.”
Financing structures at the summit are expected to include catalytic capital, blended finance, concessional funding, and structured risk-mitigation tools, intended to enable large-scale deployment of climate solutions across the continent.
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Investors attending the summit include multilaterals, climate funds, commercial banks, asset managers, impact venture capital firms, and sector-specific partners. They will be matched to projects according to maturity, ranging from pilot funding to commercial debt and equity.
Amanda Ganca, Head of Investment at WESGRO, said the pipeline of investment-ready projects reflected the growing maturity of African ecosystems. “Investor interest is translating into tangible manufacturing prospects and skilled jobs across the Western Cape and beyond,” she said.
Organisers emphasised that the summit is a call for investors to move from mere commitments to active deployment. Catalytic funding, they said, can accelerate manufacturing, job creation, and resilient systems in African economies.
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AGES 2026 is led by the African Union, with Sanlam Investments as Title Sponsor, Standard Bank as Gold Sponsor, and Silver Sponsors including FSD Africa, Gautrain, and UNOPS. The summit is hosted in partnership with the City of Cape Town and supported by government institutions such as the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the Gauteng Department of Economic Development, and the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition.
The summit comes at a time when Africa’s green sector is attracting growing attention from institutional and strategic investors seeking both environmental impact and commercial returns. Analysts say that effective mobilisation of capital into validated pilot projects could transform local industries, increase energy independence, and strengthen climate resilience across the continent.
AGES organisers said the summit will also provide a platform for knowledge exchange, technical workshops, and policy discussions to ensure that green initiatives are sustainable and scalable. “This is more than an investment forum,” Ashdown added. “It is a strategic opportunity to build the continent’s future industries while tackling climate change.”
The Africa Green Economy Summit 2026 is expected to attract hundreds of participants, including project developers, policymakers, financiers, and international partners, reinforcing Africa’s ambitions to transition to a low-carbon, sustainable economic model.
