President Kagame speaking on the Presidential Panel
The Africa CEO Forum, the continent’s premier gathering of top executives and policymakers, is set to return to Rwanda in 2026.
The announcement followed a meeting between President Paul Kagame and Amir Ben Yahmed, CEO of Jeune Afrique Media Group, one of the Forum’s co-organizers.
They discussed Rwanda’s renewed partnership with the Africa CEO Forum and preparations for the upcoming edition, scheduled to take place in Kigali.
The Forum will once again convene Africa’s business elite, development financiers, and government leaders for a high-level exchange on economic transformation and private sector leadership.
President Kagame’s commitment to Africa’s development agenda was on full display during the ongoing 2025 edition of the Forum in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Speaking during the presidential panel alongside President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Côte d’Ivoire’s Vice-President Tiémoko Meyliet Koné, President Kagame called for urgent and deliberate action to accelerate Africa’s progress.
“We have the knowledge, we have the vision, we have everything. We have resources, and we have organizations,” President Kagame said. “Africa should be far ahead of where we are now, and we shouldn’t take any comfort that some progress has been made here or there. We just need to do what we have to do. And we have all the means to do it.”
On the sidelines of the Forum, President Kagame held several high-level meetings with strategic partners.
He met with Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), to strengthen collaboration on widening access to finance and driving inclusive economic growth in Rwanda.
The IFC is a long-standing co-host of the Forum and plays a pivotal role in supporting Africa’s private sector.
President Kagame also received Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa50, with whom he discussed mobilizing private sector capital for critical development projects in Rwanda.
Another key bilateral discussion was held with President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania, focusing on deepening cooperation between the two countries.
In a show of strong regional cooperation, President Kagame met with President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire, the 2025 Forum’s host.
Their meeting underscored efforts to enhance productive relations between Rwanda and Côte d’Ivoire across various sectors.
The Africa CEO Forum is organized by Jeune Afrique Media Group and Rainbow Unlimited and is co-hosted by the IFC. It brings together over 2,000 participants from more than 70 countries, including CEOs, investors, industry experts, and policy makers.
The Forum was last held in Kigali on March 25-26, 2019, when it marked its first appearance in East Africa.
At that edition, Rwanda’s reputation as a hub for innovation, education, and business-friendly reforms was cited as a key factor in its selection as host.
The return of the Africa CEO Forum to Kigali in 2026 reaffirms Rwanda’s standing as a dynamic gateway for continental dialogue and leadership on private sector growth.
