As Africa’s climate ambitions collide with tighter fiscal space and intensifying climate shocks, attention is increasingly shifting from policy commitments to delivery, with the gap between plans and investable projects emerging as a central constraint to the continent’s green transition.
Despite the adoption of national climate and development strategies across Africa, financing remains far below what is required. The Africa Climate Finance Tracking Report 2025 shows that current climate finance flows cover only about 25% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s annual climate financing needs, underscoring the scale of the challenge as governments confront rising debt, energy shortages and water stress.
It is against this backdrop that Africa’s Green Economy Summit (AGES) 2026 will take place in Cape Town from February 24 to 27, bringing together policymakers, investors, project developers and development partners under the theme “From Ambition to Action: Scaling Investment in Africa’s Green and Blue Solutions.” The summit aims to tackle a critical question facing the continent: how to move climate projects from planning into implementation.
Africa continues to attract a disproportionately small share of global climate finance, even as climate-related risks intensify. At the same time, declining concessional funding and stiffer competition for private capital are accelerating a shift toward investment-led approaches, placing greater emphasis on project quality, bankability and risk allocation.
“Global climate discussions often focus on commitments and coordination, but delivery ultimately depends on where capital decisions are made,” said Emmanuelle Nicholls, Group Director for Green Economy at VUKA Group. She said AGES 2026 is designed to scrutinise which projects, in which markets, are ready to meet today’s financial realities and progress toward implementation.
Unlike global climate forums centred on pledges and declarations, AGES 2026 will focus on where capital is flowing, where it is stalling and what is needed to reach financial close. Discussions will centre on regulatory certainty, investment readiness and financing structures across green and blue economy sectors, including energy, water, transport, manufacturing and agriculture.
“The real constraint is not a lack of projects, but a lack of financing structures that can meet projects where they are,” said Teboho Makhabane, Head of ESG and Impact at Sanlam Investments. He said platforms that bring investors, developers and policymakers together are essential to unlocking viable projects that can deliver economic impact alongside sustainable returns.
Reinforcing its continental mandate, the African Union will return as host organisation of AGES 2026. The summit will also host the AU–Green Recovery Action Plan (AU-GRAP) Grand Finale Roundtable, marking the conclusion of Phase I of the programme. The session will review outcomes from five Green Investment Roundtables and help shape Phase II, positioning AU-GRAP as a key continental mechanism for mobilising climate and nature finance.
“We can only close the climate and nature finance gap if we understand the real movements of capital, both the momentum and the constraints,” said Barbara Buchner, Global Managing Director at the Climate Policy Initiative. She noted that while progress is being made, finance remains unevenly distributed and is still not reaching many of the regions and sectors that need it most.
A central feature of AGES 2026 will be its Investment Pitch and Showcase, presenting a curated pipeline of more than 50 vetted African projects spanning renewable energy, battery storage, climate-resilient water systems, electric mobility, waste-to-value solutions, circular manufacturing, climate-smart agriculture and resilience technologies.
