Unstoppable Africa 2026 to host African and global CEOs and leaders
Discussions will also explore Africa’s energy transition, the development and ownership of AI and digital infrastructure, the financing and global distribution of African creative industries, and how sport can become a stronger engine for investment, talent development and economic growth.
Sanda Ojiambo, Executive Director, of the UN Global Compact. (Courtesy)
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More than 2,000 African and global business leaders plus heads of state will gather in New York between September 20th –21st for Unstoppable Africa, the flagship event of the Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI).
Convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, organised and coordinated by the UN Global Compact, the fifth edition of Unstoppable Africa will convene under the theme “Powering Business, Scaling Economies, Shaping the Future”.
Held on the sidelines of the opening of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, Unstoppable Africa will feature leading investors, policymakers, creatives, sports executives and decision-makers working to accelerate Africa’s business, trade and investment and amplify its role in shaping global markets.
The ambition is not simply to shape how the world sees Africa, but to shape where global capital flows, where value is created and how Africa can capture it.”
“For the African continent, these pressures create an opportunity to leverage its critical minerals, renewable energy potential, expanding consumer markets and young workforce to attract long-term capital and capture more value from global shifts,” Ojiambo noted.
The program will focus on how Africa can capture more value from its critical minerals, strengthen infrastructure and trade, mobilise capital at scale and build more integrated and competitive markets.
Discussions will also explore Africa’s energy transition, the development and ownership of AI and digital infrastructure, the financing and global distribution of African creative industries, and how sport can become a stronger engine for investment, talent development and economic growth.
The five topics of GABI and Unstoppable Africa of Energy, Digital Transformation, Trade, Creative Industries, and Sport, will be supported by high-level plenaries, CEO and investor roundtables, ministerial dialogues, startup showcases, and GABI Solutions Labs.
The 2026 edition will create opportunities to spark transactions, develop investment vehicles, and form cross-border alliances and partnerships. Full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area could create a $3.4t market, according to UNCTAD’s 2024 Economic Development in Africa Report, highlighting the scale of the opportunity as regional integration deepens.