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Global investors, West African ministers and industry leaders are set to converge at the West Africa Industrialisation, Manufacturing & Trade (IMT) Summit & Exhibition 2026, aiming to convert regional trade opportunities into tangible industrial growth and jobs. The event will hold in Lagos, from 3–5 March 2026, under the theme: “Accelerating West Africa’s Sustainable Industrial Revolution for Economic Prosperity.”
The summit comes at a pivotal moment as West African governments move beyond macroeconomic stabilisation and trade reforms toward execution-focused manufacturing investment. Organisers describe it as a policy-to-project platform, designed to translate regional trade frameworks into factory-level investments, resilient value chains, and measurable industrial capacity within the next 12 to 18 months. Recent policy shifts have heightened the urgency. In Nigeria, the Federal Government’s National Industrial Policy, unveiled in January 2026, reinforces the push toward manufacturing competitiveness, value addition, and industrial execution. At the continental level, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is moving from negotiation to implementation, focusing on digital trade, industrialisation, and practical outcomes. Officials say these changes mark a decisive transition from “access” to “results.”
Confirmed participants include; Sen. John Enoh, Minister of State for Industry, Nigeria, alongside industry ministers from Benin, Senegal, and Ghana. Delegates from Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, the UK, France, Italy, Austria, China, India, Singapore, the UAE, the US, and Canada, among over 15 other countries, are expected to attend, underscoring growing global interest in West Africa as an emerging industrial hub.
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The summit comes at a decisive policy inflection point. AfCFTA implementation timelines, persistent energy and logistics bottlenecks, and limited medium-term industrial capital make the next 12 to 18 months critical for converting regional trade integration into real production capacity. To tackle these challenges, the summit will feature ministerial panels, country spotlights, investor roundtables, and technical workshops focusing on regulatory clarity, risk mitigation, and financing structures.
Programme discussions will prioritise four immediate action areas: aligning national industrial frameworks with AfCFTA rules and rules-of-origin; securing reliable energy and gas solutions to underpin manufacturing competitiveness; mobilising blended finance and de-risking instruments for medium-scale manufacturers and industrial parks; and reducing cross-border trade transaction costs through pragmatic regulatory fixes.
Organisers emphasise that the summit is designed to move beyond aspirational dialogue. Ministerial roundtables will be paired with investor-facing panels and technical deep dives, ensuring political direction is translated into bankable projects, implementable reforms, and measurable next steps for governments, financiers, and industry participants.
