Young entrepreneurs who attended the 2026 Africa CEO Forum in Kigali say they are leaving the two-day summit with new investor contacts, business partnerships and lessons on what it takes to scale across Africa. Held under the theme “The Scale Imperative: Why Africa Must Embrace Shared Ownership,” the forum brought together about 2,800 participants from more than 70 countries, with Kigali hosting the event for the third time. ALSO READ: THROUGH THE LENS: How Africa CEO Forum Day 1 unfolded Among those attending were founders looking to connect with investors, expand networks and position their businesses for regional growth. Jean De Dieu Kwizera, who runs a honey processing company and works across the beekeeping value chain, including pollination services for high-value crop farmers, said the forum met his expectations. “At the stage we are currently at, we already have an established business, but now the focus is on scaling up our operations and entering export markets,” he said. “What I was expecting to gain here is a network of investors.” ALSO READ: Rwanda courts investors with priority sectors at Africa CEO Forum Kwizera said he held discussions with representatives from the World Bank and Barka Fund, engagements he believes could lead to concrete opportunities. “Today, I had the opportunity to meet people from the World Bank. We had discussions, and it seems there is something concrete that could come out of it and align with the goals I have,” he said. He noted that young entrepreneurs at the summit were deliberate in making connections. “Looking at the young people who attended, we were very aggressive in networking. You could clearly see that we were all making the most of the opportunities available.” Goodluck Mutoni, founder of a plant-based hair oil business, said the forum was her first experience at an event of that scale. She said one of the key lessons was the importance of confidently presenting oneself as a founder. “As a young entrepreneur, you need to step forward and introduce yourself so people can know you, because you are the CEO,” she said. ALSO READ: Africa must process its own minerals, say Tinubu, Nguema “Sometimes people see you and assume that, because you are young, you were sent by some company and do not realise that you are the founder yourself.” Mutoni said she left with potential clients, connections with major institutions and strategic advice from industry experts. She also said young entrepreneurs should avoid expecting immediate commitments from investors. “One of the mistakes young entrepreneurs often make is expecting that meeting investors means they will immediately invest on the spot,” she said. “Sometimes they may not tell you directly, but things could already be in motion. Events like this are opportunities to leave a lasting impression so that they remember you later.” Yannick Kabayiza, Chief Executive Officer of Awesomity Lab Rwanda, said the forum created opportunities to engage with investors and business leaders interested in technology-driven growth. “We provide remote engineering teams and build digital products for organisations across different markets, so we are especially interested in meeting people who are serious about using technology to solve real business and development challenges,” he said. Kabayiza said discussions around artificial intelligence and digital transformation were particularly relevant. “We believe Africa’s opportunity is not only to adopt innovation, but to shape and build it in ways that respond to our own realities,” he said. “The real opportunity is to strengthen the capacity already being built across the continent and turn it into companies, products, and partnerships that can compete globally.” Liberian businessman Alexander Cummings said the forum reinforced the need for African businesses to work together. “The theme of the conference was scaling, and I think that’s the major opportunity for Africa,” he said. “Can we work together, reduce the barriers, so we can scale our businesses, so we can create leverage for our country, for our people?” He said relationships formed during the summit could drive future partnerships. “The people we’ve met, the numbers we’ve taken and exchanged, will encourage us to work together across borders, across countries, across companies.” ALSO READ: What economists say about impact of Africa CEO Forum Wilson Kaindi, Country Director of KPMG in Rwanda, said discussions at the forum highlighted the need to address perceptions around Africa’s investment environment. “When you look at the analysis in terms of default rates, you compare Africa and the rest of the world, there is no big difference,” he said. “However, there is a perception that has to be worked on.” He said this perception affects the cost of capital and investor appetite for large-scale projects. “There is a need for us to work together so that we are able to activate the opportunities that we do have as a continent into reality,” he said. The forum featured more than 70 panel discussions, workshops and roundtables focused on technology, finance, energy, agriculture and industrial transformation.
