Kenya and France have signalled a new wave of partnerships across Africa as preparations intensify for the Africa Forward Summit 2026, following an engagement with the Kenya Editors Guild.
According to a statement on Monday, the summit, scheduled for 12 May at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, will be preceded and accompanied by a series of engagements, most of them to be held at the University of Nairobi on 11 May.
The statement read that the summit is positioning itself as a deal-making platform, expected to step up mutual investment and unlock partnerships across artificial intelligence and digital innovation, nuclear and renewable energy, health manufacturing, infrastructure, transport, agriculture, and the creative economy.
With between 1,500 and 2,000 global CEOs and business leaders anticipated, the summit is emerging as one of the largest Africa–Europe investment convenings in recent years.
Speaking during the engagement, the Principal Secretary at the State Department for Foreign Affairs, Korir Sing’Oei, emphasised the need to reframe the Africa–France relationship.
“France is looking for a new relationship with Africa, one that is grounded in mutual respect, shared opportunity, and practical outcomes. We must consciously move away from pre-written narratives that have historically defined this relationship. Africa Forward Summit is about breaking these barriers and focusing on solutions,” he said.
The statement explained that the summit will spotlight artificial intelligence and digital transformation ecosystems. Other key areas include health sector investments, including local manufacturing of essential commodities, creative and cultural industries as economic drivers, and sports as an emerging frontier for investment and job creation.
Additionally, energy transition and infrastructure development alongside regional connectivity systems and agriculture systems transformation will feature in the high-level summit designed as a reset of Africa–France relations.
Reinforcing the economic weight behind the summit, Ambassador of France to Kenya and Somalia and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Arnaud Suquet, highlighted France’s sustained commitment to Africa and Kenya.
“Over the past decade, French investments in Kenya have grown significantly, particularly in energy, infrastructure, and services. Today, more than 140 French enterprises operate in Kenya. In the past decade, France has invested an estimated €1.8bn in Kenya in sectors of employability and sustainability for a better future,” he noted.
France currently ranks as Kenya’s fourth-largest foreign direct investment partner as well as the leading bilateral partner in Kenya’s energy sector. According to Suquet, global convergence around key issues such as climate action, digital transformation, and sustainable development is constantly creating new opportunities for deeper Africa–France collaboration.
It was clarified that the Africa Forward Summit 2026 is not only a government-to-government summit; both leaders emphasised that private-sector capital will be central to delivering the envisioned outcomes.
“Governments alone cannot drive economic transformation at the scale Africa requires; therefore, private sector participation at the Africa Forward Summit is not complementary but quite essential if we are to deliver on the commitments,” Sing’Oei noted.
Artists expected to perform include Youssou N’Dour, Fally Ipupa, Yemi Alade, Nomcebo Zikode, Savara, and Jose Chameleone, among others.
Africa Forward Summit 2026 will mark the first Africa–France summit of its kind hosted in Anglophone Africa, underscoring Kenya’s growing role as a continental convenor of global dialogue and investment. The summit is expected to culminate in a Nairobi Declaration and a series of action-orientated deliverables, positioning it as a turning point in Africa–France engagement ahead of the G7 Summit to be held in Evian-les-Bains, France, in June. It was added that certain conclusions of the summit will provide substance at the G7 level, in which Kenya will participate.
