Draft Agenda
Note: topics, times and speakers will be subject to change as the agenda develops
Day One: Tuesday 17 June 2025
08:00
10:00-12:00
• Private sector
and
• Wins and lessons from last year and expectations for the future
Moderator:
Participants:
12:00-14:00
14:00-15:30
Moderator:
Participants:
Ministers of Energy
Heads of Utilities
Heads of Regulators
aef supporting Development Finance Institutions
aef supporting corporate leaders
15:30-16:15
16:15-16:30 EnergyNet Remarks:
16:30-16:45 Host Ministerial Keynote Welcome Address:
16:45-17:20 South Africa Country Spotlight:
Moderator: Participants:
17:20-17:30
17:30-19:30
Day Two: Wednesday 18 June 2025
07:30-08:45 Closed Door Roundtable: DFI Roundtable (By Invitation Only)
Moderator: Participants:
08:00-09:00 Registration & Networking
Plenary Theare 1: Delivering M300
In partnership with M300
Boardroom 2: Generation
Boardroom 3: Transmission & Distribution
Boardroom 4: Off-taker Focus - C&I, Mining, & Data Centres
Boardroom 5: Solution Providers Workshop
09:00-09:45 09:00-10:30 09:00-10:30 09:00-10:30 09:00-10:00
M300 Progress to Date and Stakeholder Opportunities
M300 is an ambitious goal of providing electricity access to 300 million people by 2030
• 12 African countries presented their National Energy Compacts in 2025; what progress has been made to date?
• What role is there for the private sector?
• How are regulators creating an enabling environment?
09:45-10:30
M300 – Announcing the Next Round of Compacts
Developing the Next Wave of Wind Projects
09:00-09:15 Wind Project Spotlight
09:15-10:30
Africa possesses an astonishing technical wind potential of almost 180 TWh per yearenough to satisfy the continents electricity demand 250 times over
• Where are the projects?
• AMEA’s 300MW wind PPA in Ethiopia – an insight into the largest wind power facility in the horn of Africa
How is the Independent Power Transmission Model (IPT) Transforming Transmission Development? –
Case Study: South Africa’s ITP Market
• An insight into South Africa’s launch of the Independent Transmission Projects (ITP) market
• What is investor appetite?
• How the IPT market will complement the NTCSA’s plan to boost transmission development
How is C&I and Wheeling Liberalisation Shaping South Africa’s Energy Market
• How much has the acceleration of C&I projects contributed to closing the finance gap?
• What’s next in the pipeline?
• What impact has wheeling had on tariffs in South Africa?
• How can the model be replicated in other countries in the continent?
• Kenya wheeling of power –what’s the latest development?
Hosted by: UK Department for Business & Trade (UK DBT)
10:30-11:00
Plenary Theatre 1:
Delivering M300
In Partnership with M300
Boardroom 2: Generation
Networking Coffee
Boardroom 3: Transmission & Distribution
Boardroom 4: Off-taker Focus - C&I, Mining, & Data Centres
Boardroom 5: Solution Providers Workshop
11:00-11:45 11:00-12:30 11:00-12:00 11:00-12:30 11:00-12:30
M300 – Announcing the Next Round of Compacts
Developing the Next Set of Large-Scale Solar Projects
11:00-11:15 Solar Project Spotlight 11:15-12:30
• Where are the mega projects?
• What are the partnership opportunities?
How is the Independent Power Transmission Model (IPT)
Transforming Transmission Development
• New approaches to financing and delivering transmission infrastructure
• Understanding how IPT models fit into overall grid management and transmission rollout
• How are Kenya and Uganda implementing IPTs for power evacuation?
Renewable Energy Ecosystem to Meet Mining
Case Study: How Anglo American have successfully put in place a solid plan to power their mines
• Energy Transition for the industrial and mining sectors: The economics of the deal
• Last month's JDA between Sasol, De Beers, and Anglo American demonstrates how renewable diesel could replace standard diesel in the mining energy transition
Hosted by: South Africa’s IPP Office –
Celebrating 15 years of South Africa’s IPP Office: The Greatest Renewable Energy Programme in the World 11:45-12:30
M300 – Announcing the Next Round of Compacts
12:30-13:30
12:30-13:30
Plenary Theatre 1: Delivering M300 In Partnership with M300
M300 – Announcing the Next Round of Compacts
Boardroom 2: Generation
Networking Lunch
Hosted by Clifford Chance
Celebrating South Africa’s IPP Office Lunch – by invitation only Hosted by South Africa’s IPP Office
Boardroom 3: Transmission & Distribution
14:15-15:00
M300 – Announcing the Next Round of Compacts
Just Energy Transition –What’s in it for Africa?
South Africa’s coal emissions per capita are the highest in the G20, however wind and solar produced 12% of electricity in South Africa in 2023 — a significant leap from just 2% in 2015.
• How can Africa efficiently harness its renewable resources and benefit from the clean energy transition?
• Linking African clean energy projects with the ETS/UK – what would it mean for Africa?
Breaking the Barriers for Regional Transmission
• Emerging models for Interconnection projects
• Capitalising on excess power: latest developments in SAPP, EAPP, and WAPP in moving the conversation to implementation
• The benefits of regional power collaboration - the East Africa Power Pool's (EAPP) centralised DayAhead Market (DAM)
• Financing for high-cost transmission projects
Boardroom 4: Off-taker Focus: C&I Mining and Data Centres
Financing Mining
• C&I & PPPs: how financing for C&I projects can be structured in PPP arrangements
• Private power projects for mining
• Can off-takers fill the financing gap?
Boardroom 5: Solution Providers Workshop
Hosted by: Chemonics
15:00-15:30
Plenary Theatre 1:
Delivering M300 In Partnership with M300
Boardroom 2: Generation
Networking Coffee
Boardroom 3: Transmission & Distribution
Boardroom 4: Off-taker Focus - C&I, Mining, & Data Centres
Boardroom 5: Solution Providers Workshop
15:30-16:15 15:30-17:00 15:30-17:00 15:30-17:00 15:30-16:30
M300 – Announcing the Next Round of Compacts Revisiting the Gas to Power Conversation in 2025
15:30-15:45 Gas Project Spotlight
15:45-17:00
• Is this the year gas projects will accelerate on the continent?
• What kind of energy transition is Africa looking for?
• Does Africa have the necessary infrastructure for Gas-to-Power projects?
Case Studies: How will Current Large-Scale Projects Execute Power
Case Study: Mozambique Mphanda Nkuwa Hydroelectric Project, the strategy to bring the 1500-megawatt hydroelectric project – Africa’s biggest IPP to life by 2031
Case Study: Tanzania Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project –what is the roadmap for executing the 2,115 MW capacity
Case Study: Morocco Noor Medelt
– latest developments on one of the world’s largest concentrated solar plants
Global Demand for Critical Minerals – Africa’s Big Opportunity Africa holds the key to critical minerals needed for the global energy transition
• Should African nations control the export of unprocessed minerals? What are the trade-offs?
• How can African countries use their mineral wealth to develop domestic industries and create value locally?
• What global partnerships are essential to ensure sustainable mining practices while maximising African benefits?
• How the Lobito Corridor will help facilitate westward trade flows of critical minerals
Hosted by: Marsh
17:00-18:00 Plenary Theatre 1: Ministerial Town Hall
All Participating Ministers will be invited to answer questions on current projects pipelines and their strategies
Moderator: Simon Gosling, MD, EnergyNet
Participating Ministers:
Day Three: Thursday 19 June 2025
07:30-08:45
08:00-09:00
Moderator: Participants:
Plenary Theatre 1: Africa HardBall –Chatham House Rule
In partnership with CBI Crucial discussions which bring stakeholders together to explore solutions
Geopolitics: Shifts in the Global Balance of Power and the Impact of a Multipolar World on Business
Shifts in global politics, from Trump’s presidency to China’s evolving renewable energy investments to emerging ‘Middle Powers’, have significant implications for Africa.
• How will U.S. policy impact Africa’s energy industries, including renewable investments and a range of funding options?
• What are the key trends in Africa’s diversification beyond partnerships with traditional Western and Chinese investors?
• Is the international diplomatic and financial architecture fit for purpose
• What do coups d’état in the Sahel tell us about wider geopolitical shifts?
Boardroom 2: Generation
Boardroom 3: Financing Options
Hydropower
09:00-09:15
Hydro Project Spotlight
09:15-10:30
• Only 11% of Africa’s hydro potential is utilised – considerations on the bankability of hydro
• Where are the opportunities to modernise old hydropower projects
• Climate impacts - what are trends in hydrology indicating?
• Addressing the variability of hydropower
Funding the Gap: Scaling and Accelerating Investment for SDG7 in a Changing Geopolitical Environment
• Is the traditional project finance model too slow and expensive? What alternatives exist?
• What do changes in U.S. policy mean for SGD7?
• What big, bold financial mechanisms are needed to drive the pace and scale of investment needed?
• Can new collaborative regional financing approaches (e.g. pooled guarantees or sovereign bond buy-ins) change the game?
• What debt friendly funding mechanisms are available?
Boardroom 4: Off-taker Focus - C&I, Mining, & Data Centres
Powering Data Centres
At present, data centres worldwide consume 1-2% of overall power, but this percentage will likely rise to 3-4% by the end of the decade
• Data centres are increasingly looking for a home in Africa, what is the right energy mix?
• Data Centres will boost generation projects and investments, but how will they affect energy access?
• Can grids cope or will data centres have to remain offgrid?
• How Africa can attract AI training workloads (starting from 100MW)
Boardroom 5: Solution Providers Workshop
10-30-11:00
Plenary Theatre 1: Africa HardBall –Chatham House Rule
In partnership with CBI
Geopolitics: Africa’s Integration into Global Markets Beyond Export Resources
• National and regional strategies for moving beyond extractive industries to drive growth and social uplift
• Moving beyond traditional relationships (following on from Geopolitics 1)
• How are international partners relating to African demands for change?
Focus TBC
11:00-11:15 Wind Project Spotlight
Mobilising Sovereign Wealth Funds and Pension Funds
• What criteria do pension funds want to see to mobilise capital?
• How can local pension fund capital boost international investment confidence?
• What role can local financial institutions play in reducing reliance on international capital
Financing Data Centre: Case Studies
11:00-11:15 Data Centre Project Spotlight 11:15-12:30
• Microsoft and G42 –Exploring successful PPPs in digital infrastructure
• Exploring regulatory frameworks to attract investors
Hosted by: South Africa’s IPP Office
12:30-13:30
Plenary Theatre 1: Africa HardBall –
Chatham House Rule
In partnership with CBI
Turning Private Power into Asset Class
• What is stopping private sector players from investing in power projects?
• African projects are often rated as higher-risk despite low default rates, driving up costs and slowing investment. The African Union has identified this as a major issue. How can the narrative be changed?
• Addressing the disconnect between perceived and actual risks in African markets – a dialogue of the deaf? Can an Africanled credit rating initiative challenge global narratives and reduce borrowing costs?
13:30-13:45
Networking Lunch
Mitigating Currency Risk
• Current risk mitigation approaches are outdated and fail to address the realities of political and currency risks in African markets
• What innovations in risksharing (e.g., localized guarantees or hybrid insurance) are reshaping the financing landscape?
• What can Africa-led institutions do to take greater ownership of the risk-mitigation agenda?
Digital Infrastructure and AI Creating Efficient Markets
• Using data and AI to accelerate development in the energy sector
• Automation for improving the reliability of grids
• How is digital infrastructure fuelling energy transition globally?
Hosted by: AfDB
15:00-15:30 Networking Coffee
Plenary Theatre 1: Africa HardBall –Chatham House Rule In partnership with CBI
Debt, Currency and Other Macro Economic Crises and the Impact on Africa’s Energy Sector
We are not yet at a crisis of sovereign defaults, but as one recent analysis put it, the financial community’s “shock absorption capacity has diminished across the board and debt tolerance has often reached its limits”
• So how effective are the G20 Common Framework, IMF and other elements of the collective debt resolution framework?
• A HardBall to look at currency issues. Can initiatives like Ethiopia’s birr reform be seen as a gamechanger for developers?
Hydrogen and Africa’s Leap into Global Markets
15:30-15:45 Hydrogen Project Spotlight
15:45-17:00
Green hydrogen presents Africa with an opportunity to become a global energy exporter, but challenges remain
• What investments are required to make Africa a competitive player in the hydrogen economy?
• Can Africa strike a balance between domestic energy needs and export-driven hydrogen strategies?
• How can hydrogen value chains be de-risked and made bankable?
Revisiting the Financing Gas Debate in 2025
• Is 2025 the year when a flood of financing will open for Africa’s gas projects?
• What projects are set to accelerate?
Unlocking the Potential of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)
15:30-15:45 BESS Project Spotlight
15:45-17:00
• How are supply chain issues effecting current projects?
• What regulation is needed for BESS projects?
• What challenges do OEMs face when supplying to Africa?
• EPCs and risk analysis of delivering BESS
• Large scale batteries and degeneration - are stakeholders prepared with replacement solutions if they degenerate in the next decade?
Hosted by:
18:30 -20:30
Day Three: Friday 20 June 2025
07:30-08:45 Closed Door Roundtable: Regulators Roundtable: (By Invitation Only)
Moderator: Participants:
08:0009:00 Registration & Networking
Plenary Theatre 1: Africa HardBall – Chatham House Rule In partnership with CBI
Energy Justice and Africa’s Role in Decarbonisation
• Is the COP process still valid?
• Is it fair to ask Africa to decarbonise at the same pace as richer nations? Has the continent framed its arguments in a sufficiently coordinated manner?
• How can Africa place development as a strategic priority?
• Pledged climate finance has consistently fallen short of expectations and promises. Where are the funds and why has it not reached Africa?
Demystifying Financial Markets: What are Financial Investors Looking for to Say Yes!?
Asking financial investors: what made you comfortable writing that cheque?
What Technologies are Boosting Renewable Development?
• Global learnings
• Which technologies should Africa be excited about adopting?
• Smart Grids and Smarter Strategies: AI’s impact on grid-enhancing technologies
Plenary Theatre 1:
Africa HardBall - Chatham House Rule In partnership with CBI
Governance and compliance in 2025
• Know-your-client legislation, the alignment of national (and personal) business interests and regulatory frameworks and other ‘governance’ issues seem more than ever in question. Is this actually the case?
• Environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria have come to be an important element in many investors and financiers’ investment calculations, but were increasingly widely in question even before the Trump presidency. We discuss.
• Do host governments try to avoid ESG concerns impacting on their projects?
• Do ESG concerns work to the advantage/disadvantage of investors?
Digitisation AI and Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities and Ethical Concerns
The rise of AI also introduces risks, including cybersecurity vulnerabilities and ethical concerns, which will require proactive governance to address