The Africa Financial Summit will hold its 2026 annual meeting in Luanda on Nov. 3 and 4, bringing more than 1,250 financial-sector executives, regulators, investors and policymakers to Angola as the country seeks to modernize its banking and capital markets.

The event, known as AFIS, will be held in Southern Africa for the first time and marks its debut in a Lusophone country. The summit was founded in 2021 by Jeune Afrique Media Group with the International Finance Corp. to bring together African financial-industry leaders and policymakers.

The 2026 gathering will focus on mobilizing domestic capital, expanding cross-border financial integration, accelerating digital transformation and strengthening African financial institutions. AFIS says more than 1,250 senior leaders are expected to attend, including bankers, insurers, fintech executives, capital-markets specialists, regulators and pension-fund representatives.

Angola is positioning itself as an emerging financial hub as it reforms its banking industry, expands capital markets and seeks to diversify its economy beyond oil. AFIS puts the country’s 2026 gross domestic product at about $115 billion and describes Angola as the continent’s seventh-largest economy.

The Angolan Stock Exchange and Derivatives, known as BODIVA, is playing a growing role in the country’s capital-market development, while infrastructure investment and Angola’s participation in the Southern African Development Community are increasing the country’s regional financial links.

Among the speakers expected in Luanda are IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop, African Development Bank President Sidi Ould Tah, Angola’s Finance Minister Vera Daves de Sousa, DRC Finance Minister Doudou Roussel Linkunde Li-Botayi, Guinea’s Economy, Finance and Budget Minister Mariama Ciré Sylla and Gabon’s Economy and Finance Minister Thierry Minko.

Other speakers include Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, governor of the Central Bank of West African States, West African Development Bank President Serge Ekué, Kenya Capital Markets Authority Chief Executive Officer Wyckliffe Shamiah, Britam Group Chief Executive Officer Tom Gitogo, Wave Mobile Money Group Regional Director Coura Carine Sène and BODIVA Chief Executive Officer Cristina Dias Lourenço.

AFIS is also expected to use the summit to advance its agenda for mobilizing more local and regional capital at a time when African governments and companies face tighter access to international financing.

“The financial sector plays a critical role in mobilizing domestic capital at scale into productive sectors, notably through transactions in local currency,” said Manuel Moses, chief executive officer of the African Trade Insurance Agency. “By partnering with financial institutions and sharing risk, we can unlock more financing for SMEs and productive investments.”

The summit’s programme includes discussions on banking, capital markets, insurance, fintech and digital finance, as well as financial-sector regulation and economic conditions. The 2026 programme also includes the AFIS-Deloitte Barometer, which will examine confidence among African financial executives, AI investment, risk exposure and sustainable finance.

For AFIS founder and Jeune Afrique Media Group Chief Executive Officer Amir Ben Yahmed, the move to Luanda expands the summit’s geographic reach while putting Angola’s financial reforms under greater international scrutiny.

“This first edition in Southern Africa shines a spotlight on Angola, a market undergoing liberalization with considerable potential,” Ben Yahmed said.

Angola’s central bank governor, Manuel Antonio Tiago Dias, said the summit would provide an opportunity for financial-sector leaders to collaborate on the continent’s major challenges.

The International Finance Corp., which has supported AFIS since its creation, will co-host the 2026 summit.

The summit comes as AFIS seeks to turn its annual gathering into a broader platform for financial-sector cooperation. Its latest action framework sets 11 targets for banks, insurers, capital-markets firms, fintech companies, regulators and governments, with a 2030-2035 horizon.

AFIS 2026 will take place in Luanda on Nov. 3 and 4.