Africa’s Green Economy Summit serves as a pivotal platform for advancing the conversation on sustainable development across the continent, particularly in light of the recent discussions at COP29. As global leaders gather to address climate change, Africa is poised to lead the way in implementing green economy initiatives that harness renewable energy, promote sustainable agriculture and create resilient urban environments.

Over 50 climate startups and investor-ready projects valued at over $2-billion will once again have the opportunity to meet investors at the upcoming Africa's Green Economy Summit (AGES), as it returns to Cape Town for its third edition from February 19 to 21,  2025.

The event brings together global investors, African government leaders and private sector stakeholders to foster sustainable economic development across the continent. It is aimed at bridging crucial investment gaps, particularly in sectors driving Africa's net-zero ambitions, such as renewable energy, green transport, waste management, water infrastructure, sustainable agriculture, green industrialisation, digitalisation and resilient cities.

Since its launch in 2023, the event has quickly developed a reputation for connecting global capital to developing African projects and so accelerate the green economy on the continent. From entrepreneurial start-ups and scale-ups to national-scale infrastructure projects, AGES introduces project owners with a network of global investors who fund opportunities to support Africa's journey to a just and inclusive green economy.

What to expect at AGES 2025

The theme for the 2025 event, “Building a Climate Resilient Africa: Catalysing Investment and Innovation in the Green and Blue Economies,” aligns with the New Collective Quantified Goal for climate finance. This framework provides financial resources for mitigation, adaptation and loss-and-damage measures, particularly for vulnerable nations, supporting the event's focus on resilience and sustainable development across Africa. Merging discussions around the blue and the green economies is crucial as it will play a significant role in advancing the broader sustainability agenda. The African Union has identified blue ocean economy development as a priority goal towards achieving the aspiration of “A prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development” within the context of the Africa Union Agenda 2063.

Sustainable agriculture is another new focus area; something AGES advisory board member and Agribusiness Development Corporation CEO Hennie van der Merwe, is very excited about: “I think agriculture and the green economy are synonymous, and Africa being an agribusiness-driven continent with huge potential, I think it’s an overstated fact that agriculture and sustainable agriculture and the circular economy are all terms that are synonymous and I think should be featured at the summit.”

Speaker highlights in the AGES2025 programme include:

• Maxwell Gomera, Resident Representative of UNDP South Africa and Director of the Africa Sustainable Finance Hub, Africa region 
• Barbara Buchner, Global Managing Director, Climate Policy Initiative, USA 
• Carl Roothman, Chief Executive Officer, Sanlam Investment Group, South Africa 
• Andrew Johnstone, Chief Executive Officer, Climate Fund Managers, South Africa 
• Hubert Danso, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Africa Investor (Ai) Group, South Africa 
• Kavita Sinha, Head of Private Sector Finance, Green Climate Fund, Korea 
• Geordin Hill-Lewis, Mayor, City of Cape Town, South Africa 

Green reforms case studies

African countries and the African Union will also have the opportunity to present how the continent is developing effective policy mechanism to capitalise on climate finance by opening regional and national markets. They will showcase recent reforms and the lessons learnt from these. Featured in this session are:

• Mallé Fofana, Head and Africa Regional Director, Global Green Growth Institute, Côte d’Ivoire (session chairman)
• Harsen Nyambe, Director of Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy, African Union, Ethiopia
• James Mnyupe, Presidential Economic Advisor and Hydrogen Commissioner, Government of the Republic of Namibia
• Seewraj Nundlall, Director, Economic Development Board, Mauritius
   

Other conference session highlights include:

• Power pools: A regional case study
• Financial instruments for nature and biodiversity conservation: The good, the bad and the ugly
• Climate finance: What’s new and what’s next?
• Women in Green Economy breakfast session

Targeted workshops will bring together smaller groups for the following topics:

• Navigating the climate founders’ journey
• Dialogue on CBAM: Challenges and opportunities for African industries
• Gender finance: Financing growth for women entrepreneurs 
• Debt-for-nature swaps: Exploring government-private sector collaboration and investment opportunities in nature and biodiversity 
• Mobilising climate adaptation finance in Africa: Strategies and partnerships for DFIs and investors 

Pitch-perfect stages
Hot on the heels of the hugely successful project pitch stage which formed the pulsing heart of the 2024 event, and due to the huge supply and demand of projects and investors keen to grow their money in the green economy, AGES2025 will return with two startup stages—one for Startups and SMMEs and one for Infrastructure Projects—featuring a total of over 50 projects across six different green and blue sectors.

The burgeoning businesses will have the opportunity to present their offering to an attentive audience of investors and corporate representatives eager to delve deeper into their ideas and visions. Startups will receive insights and constructive feedback from the “shark tank” jury of high-level business leaders and be able to identify investors who share a genuine interest in supporting and nurturing their vision.

Click here for more information on projects that have already been approved.

Masterclass and mingling
On the pre-conference day on February 18, 2025, a Masterclass on African carbon market opportunities will provide an essential training workshop focused on deepening the understanding of carbon finance, learning from practical examples and discovering how to leverage carbon market opportunities to support sustainable development and climate action. This workshop aligns perfectly with the recent agreement on standards for international carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which aims to regulate and promote carbon trading globally. By integrating these standards, the masterclass will offer valuable insights into how African nations can effectively participate in and benefit from the global carbon market.

To enable delegates to meet, mingle and do deals, there will be plenty of opportunities for networking, business matchmaking and breaking bread together during the upcoming AGES2025. In addition, on Day 3, on Friday, February 21, an experiential day will take delegates on informative technical site visits to the V&A Waterfront and the Atlantis Special Economic Zone as well as a wine-tasting and lunch in the Cape vineyards.

Investing for long-term sustainability
Sanlam Investments will once again be the title sponsor of the event and lead a diverse group of over 150 investors who are keen to invest in climate solutions. Sanlam Investments Group CEO Carl Roothman says: “Sanlam Investments is committed to sustainable investing and has integrated environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into our investment process. We believe that sustainable, impact investing is not only the right thing to do, but it also makes good business sense. It leads to better long-term investment outcomes in the long term.”

“Leveraging the green economy is key to achieving these outcomes. To address the most pressing issues in our country today — unemployment, inequality and climate change — we need investments in areas or projects that tackle these issues. We are already at the forefront of several initiatives which focus on truly building and creating growth for the African continent. The AGES summit is a platform for us to have real discussions and commit to creating impact through investments.”