AU Chair Angola Hosts Heads of State-Level Infrastructure Financing Summit

The African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), the African Union Commission (AUC), and the Government of the Republic of Angola will host Africa’s biggest Infrastructure Financing Summit come October 23–24, 2025, in Luanda, Republic of Angola, according to a press release by AUDA-NEPAD.

The Summit, part of the broader continental effort to unlock investments and partnerships in support of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 infrastructure aspirations under the framework of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), builds on previous editions, the most recent being the 2023 Dakar Infrastructure Financing Summit.

According to AUDA-NEPAD, Africa faces an annual infrastructure financing gap of more than US$100 billion in addition to US$1.3 trillion required to implement the Continental Power Systems Master Plan (CMP) for an African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM) by 2040. PIDA alone requires $16 billion annually to deliver transformative, cross-border projects that deliver the continent’s industrial, trade, and energy ambitions by 2030.

Current AU Chairperson, President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço of Angola, places infrastructure financing at the heart of his continental agenda. “Infrastructure is one of the essential pillars of the African Union’s Agenda 2063. We must mobilise all available financial resources to achieve our goals — from roads and railways to ports, power lines, and digital networks. I have called on the Commission to convene a continental infrastructure conference in 2025 to drive investment and connect Africa for trade, innovation, and prosperity,” he said.

President Lourenço was speaking at the handover ceremony of the new leadership at the AU Commission in March 2025. The Luanda Summit, which is the AU’s response to President Lourenço’s call, is also part of Africa’s ongoing quest for universal energy access through PIDA Energy Projects, AfSEM, and CMP.

The Summit will explore financing initiatives designed to close energy access gaps for the more than 600 million Africans without access to electricity and advance engagement with philanthropic organisations and climate-aligned investors to drive investment in sustainable energy infrastructure, particularly in underserved regions, building on the Nairobi Roadmap adopted by AUDA-NEPAD, the AU Commission, the Trade and Development Bank, and the African Development Bank.

“As Africa positions itself to lead in the global digital and AI revolution, the Luanda Summit will examine how digital infrastructure, fintech, and Artificial Intelligence can drive smarter planning, enhanced service delivery, and greater financial inclusion. With industrial growth corridors dependent on data, energy, and mobility, the Summit will explore pathways to digitally enabled industrialisation powered by regional integration under the AfCFTA,” says AUDA-NEPAD.

The Summit will highlight the imperative of mobilising domestic financing for infrastructure development through innovative financing mechanisms, including blended finance, project bonds, and risk mitigation tools. “With over $70 billion in African pension and sovereign wealth funds available annually, new public-private cooperation models will be explored to unlock these resources for long-term infrastructure investment,” said the statement.

Through curated deal rooms and investment pitch sessions, African governments and institutions at the Luanda Summit will present infrastructure portfolios to potential investors to secure capital commitments for regional corridors, power generation and transmission, logistics platforms, and digital backbones. Strategic corridors such as the Lobito Corridor, Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport, and the Dakar–Bamako–Djibouti route will feature as integrated models combining infrastructure, trade, and industrial development.

Registration for the Luanda Infrastructure Financing Summit, as well as opportunities to showcase projects and partner with the organisers, will open in the coming weeks. Further details on participation, side events, and exhibition platforms will be announced soon on the official event page.