Business Quest Team 
- Kenya to Host Africa Capital Week to Mobilise Investments at Continental Scale.
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA), the Vision 2030 Delivery Secretariat, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), and the Nairobi International Financial Centre (NIFC) convened a high-level breakfast meeting bringing together heads of government institutions, private sector leaders, development partners, and international financiers in preparation for the upcoming Africa Capital Markets Week (31st August -4th September 2026).
The breakfast launch was attended by senior government officials, including the Principal Secretary, State Department for Economic Planning; Mr. Bonface Makhoha,the Principal Secretary, State Department for Public Investments and Asset Management;Mr. Cyrell Odede Wagunda, the Chairperson of the Capital Markets Authority Mr. Wycklife M. Shamiah; and the CEO Nairobi International Finance Center (NIFCA), Nairobi Securities Exchange Mr. Frank Mwiti among other representatives from government, the private sector, and international financial institutions. Development partners and key investment stakeholders in attendance included ABSA, Britam, the National Black Chamber of Commerce, and the Kenya Association of Stockbrokers and Investment Banks, among others.
The breakfast meeting was organized to provide a platform for engagement and collaboration ahead of Africa Capital Markets Week, which is expected to bring together leading investors, policymakers, regulators, development finance institutions, and private sector stakeholders from across the continent.
The initiative aligns with Kenya’s development agenda and the objectives of Vision 2030 by promoting investment, deepening capital markets, and enhancing Africa’s attractiveness as an investment destination.
In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the Kenya Vision 2030 Delivery Board, Dr. Emmanuel K. Nzai announced the inaugural Africa Capital Markets Week, a five-day capital markets forum scheduled to take place in Nairobi from 31 August to 4 September 2026.
The forum will convene institutional investors, fund managers, development finance institutions, sovereign wealth funds, regulators, and policymakers from across Africa and around the world to advance the mobilization of capital for the continent’s development priorities.
Africa faces an infrastructure financing gap estimated at USD 402 billion annually, yet the continent’s capital markets remain structurally undersized relative to both its financing needs and its economic scale.
Africa’s institutional capital pools are substantial and growing, yet the frameworks, instruments, and cross-border infrastructure needed to direct that capital into the continent’s most critical investment opportunities remain underdeveloped.
Institutional barriers, thin secondary markets, and fragmented regulatory frameworks across borders have kept domestic capital from flowing efficiently to where it is needed most.
“This launch comes at a pivotal moment, following the presentation of the 2026/27 National Budget, which reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to economic transformation and private sector-led growth.
Achieving these ambitions will require stronger partnerships and increased mobilization of private capital,” said Dr. Bonface B. Makokha, Principal Secretary of the State department for economic secretary, the National treasury.
Kenya hosts Africa Capital Week as both a convenor and a direct embodiment of the opportunity the forum seeks to address.
Over the past decade, Kenya has advanced a sustained programme of capital markets reform, building one of the continent’s most diversified regulatory environments, expanding its range of investable instruments, and establishing Nairobi as the headquarters city for major development finance institutions and multilateral agencies operating across East and Central Africa.
The country’s Vision 2030 blueprint and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) together represent a substantial pipeline of investment opportunities across infrastructure, energy, housing, and the digital economy, requiring patient, long-term capital at scale.
The deepening of capital markets is a key priority under Kenya Vision 2030, reflecting the country’s commitment to mobilising domestic and international capital to support sustainable economic growth and development.
“Africa Capital Week is not simply about raising capital. It is about building confidence. It is about connecting opportunity with investment.
It is about transforming ambition into action.And ultimately, it is about securing Africa’s economic future through stronger capital markets and sustainable investments,” said Cyrell Wagunda Odede, Principal Secretary, state department for public investments and assets management.
Speaking at the meeting, representatives of the National Black Chamber of Commerce indicated that the organization has mobilized close to USD 1 billion that is ready for investment in viable projects.
The five – day programme will combine high – level plenary sessions on continental capital markets policy, technical sessions across asset classes and market infrastructure, and structured investor matchmaking across priority sectors.
A defining feature of Africa Capital Week will be structured project site visits, taking delegations directly to investment – ready projects on the ground to enable first – hand assessment of opportunities.
Tracked outcomes will include activated investment pipelines, policy commitments and cross – border capital flow frameworks agreed during the forum.
“Africa has not had a forum of this standing dedicated entirely to its capital markets.Africa Capital Week will be where the continent’s financing agenda is set, where investor relationships that move capital across borders are built, and where the narrative about what African markets can deliver is written by those who are building them.
We call on every institution with a stake in this continents future to be in Nairobi for this forum”, concluded Dr.Emmanuel Nzai, Chairman, Kenya Vision 2030 Delivery Board and convenor of the State department for economic secretary,the National Treasury.
Institutional investors, policy makers, market practitioners, and development partners are invited to register and join the conversation at https://www.africacapitalweek.org
