Africa Forward Summit in Kenya.

Nearly nine years after President Emmanuel Macron’s speech in Ouagadougou, the “Africa Forward: Partnerships Between Africa and France for Innovation and Growth” Summit marks an important milestone that reflects the renewed commitment to France’s relations with African countries across all areas.

Co-organized with Kenya on May 11 and 12, 2026, the summit will give center stage to all the stakeholders who contribute to France's partnership with African countries on a daily basis: heads of state and government, business leaders, cultural figures, representatives from the worlds of sports, civil society, the diaspora, and youth. More than 7,000 participants are expected to attend. 

The transformation of the partnership between Africa, France, and Europe is at the core of this summit:

• promoting mutually beneficial partnerships on an equal footing, 
• forging ties through our youth and our diasporas,
• encouraging private investment on the African continent to address financing needs (development, climate, etc.).

Africa Forward builds on the momentum of the 2021 Paris Summit on Financing African Economies, the 2023 Paris Summit on the New Global Financial Pact, and the African Union–European Union (AU–EU) Summits in Brussels under the French Presidency of the European Union in February 2022 and in Luanda in November 2025.

It also marks an important step toward ensuring that the voices of African countries are heard ahead of the G7 Summit in Evian in June 2026. 

This Summit provides an opportunity to highlight the strengthening of the economic and financial partnership between African countries and France by promoting cross-border private investment between Africa and France and showcasing the strengths of France’s offerings in a fragmented geopolitical environment.

As a result, €23 billion in investments in Africa have been announced, corresponding to the creation of more than 250,000 direct jobs in France and Africa, and many more indirect jobs. Of the €23 billion, €14 billion are French investments in Africa; €9 billion are African investments in Africa.