Energising Africa's future: thousands of energy and infrastructure experts gather for AEF 2026

Leading lawyers and other energy industry experts are convening at the Cape Town International Convention Centre today for four days of pragmatic discussions on ‘Building Africa’s Industrialised Future’ and finding diversified energy solutions to power growth for more than 1.5 billion people across the African continent. 

First held in Amsterdam in 1999, the Africa Energy Forum (AEF) is a premier annual meeting for governments, utilities, and the international energy sector to discuss public and private power, energy, infrastructure, and industrial opportunities in Africa, 

The massive growth of AEF, from two sponsors and 200 or so delegates in its first years in Europe to several thousand attendees gathering in Cape Town this week mirrors the transformation of Africa's energy sector itself, says Greg Nott, Head of Africa at Deneys and a veteran adviser on energy projects across the continent. 

“In the very beginning we’d struggle to find or discuss any new projects that had actually closed," he told Africa Legal ahead of AEF 2026. “We’d talk about the same projects over and over, nothing really moved. There’d be a few hundred people in attendance, and few if any South African firms represented. Now, AEF is a totally different story, and that’s a reflection of the growth and importance of energy in the region and on the continent as a whole, plus all the good stories that come with it.”

Nott and more than a dozen of Deneys’ senior leaders and energy specialists, including CEO Brent Botha, Head of Energy Matthew Ash, and Head of Banking & Finance and Projects Jackie Midlane, will be in attendance at AEF 2026 (Stand C70).

AEF 2026 will see 600 young people taking part in practical workshops, over 230 expert speakers and 80 sessions, and more than 1,000 companies represented.

Following welcoming comments from Goran Rajsic, Founder & Chairman of forum sponsor Sun Africa, at 10am this morning, South Africa’s Minister of Electricity & Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa will deliver a high-level keynote address. 

Other opening day events include a panel discussion “Spotlight on South Africa – Investments, Partnerships and Opportunities”, and a Ministerial Town Hall addressing “Regional Production Hubs to Drive Industrialisation” that is scheduled to include 21 speakers including energy and other key ministers from South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Senegal, Ethiopia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, Djibouti, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Namibia, Liberia, and Mozambique. 

There are plentiful opportunities for offstage discussions across Networking Villages and the Exhibition space including an opening drinks reception this evening. 

“The Africa Energy Forum remains a key meeting point for the financiers, developers and advisers shaping the future of energy across the continent,” says CMS Africa, which will have more than a dozen partners and senior leaders in attendance this week (Stand F30). “The discussions taking place in Cape Town will help drive the projects and investments that define Africa’s energy landscape in the years ahead.”

Several other leading African and global law firms will be in strong attendance at AEF 2026 in Cape Town over the coming days, including: Bowmans; Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr; senior leaders from ALN member firms in Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia; Olaniwun Ajayi; Baker McKenzie; ENS; Clifford Chance; A&O Shearman; Jones Day; Covington; Hogan Lovells; and White & Case. 

“AEF 2026 arrives at a defining moment for African energy,” says Oludare Senbore, Partner at Aluko & Oyebode (ALN Nigeria), who will be participating in the Corporate Roundtable at AEF 2026. “The continent is no longer simply a source of resources. It is becoming the site of value creation, industrial transformation, and long-term capital deployment. The conversations at Cape Town will shape the frameworks and partnerships that determine whether that potential is realised.”