Lisbon to play host to 21st Africa Energy Forum

Nearly 3,000 stakeholders and investors are expected to attend the 21st Africa Energy Forum in Lisbon between 11 to 14 of June. The Forum returns to Europe for its 21st year following its 20th anniversary on Mauritius, providing a platform for important energy projects to be reviewed and showcased in front of international investors.

Whilst the 20thedition last year reflected on the pivotal players and moments of the last 20 years, this year’s Forum will explore the opportunities and innovations set to shape policy and investment decisions going forward. The Forum is proud to partner with Associação Lusófona de Energias Renováveis (ALER) for this Lisbon edition, to promote renewable energy across Lusophone Africa.

This year’s Forum will also recognise the increasing role of women in the sector, as mobilisers in small communities and industry influencers running the brightest and boldest companies in the energy space – not just on the African continent. The organisers have therefore taken the bold decision to invite an extraordinary and diverse group of industry shapers [all of whom happen to be women] to moderate all 56 panels of the Forum. This commitment will take the diversity ratio of female participants past 25% for the first time, up from only 9% in 2012 (when only 700 investors attended).

Panel discussions will focus on the latest emerging investment trends in Africa, Portugal’s partnership with Lusophone Africa, the renewable energy project landscape in Mozambique and Angola, the rise of solar projects across Africa and strategies to scale up off grid energy projects, among many others.

The Forum’s shift to Lisbon has been warmly welcomed by the Government of Portugal who continues to put partnerships, knowledge and technology transfer and economic opportunities firmly in the hands of all that welcome them. This is especially true in the exciting Lusophone countries, who are seeing massive investment in their natural resource and electricity sectors.

The Africa Energy Forum welcomes a huge number of credible and proven public sector decision makers from all corners of the world, with some 46% African nationals and 21% of total delegates being leading public sector policy makers. Mozambique, Angola, Cote D’Ivoire, Morocco, Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Ethiopia will showcase their latest projects and investment opportunities in this closed networking environment.

This year a ‘project successes guide’ will present projects closed over the last 18 months. This will provide insights into how projects reached financial close and what it took to achieve that goal.

Other highlights include a pre-forum football tournament, the EnergyNet Student Engagement Initiative ‘University Challenge’ - where four teams from African Universities compete to take on an industry panel in the closing session of the Forum.

Join us at this year’s Africa Energy Forum in June to explore the opportunities and innovations set to shape policy and investment decisions in Africa’s future!

Shiddika Mohamed

Group Director, EnergyNet