AfCFTA Secretary to Headline PMI Global Summit in Cape Town
African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretary-general Wamkele Mene. (Photo/ Courtesy)
By Mbungu Harrison
Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com
African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretary-general Wamkele Mene will headline the PMI Global Summit Series Cape Town, set for September 14–15 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).
The summit, hosted by the Project Management Institute (PMI) Sub-Saharan Africa, will bring together leaders from government, development finance, technology, energy and infrastructure sectors under the theme ‘Africa Delivers M.O.R.E. Together.’
Mene’s participation is expected to add weight to the summit’s focus on implementation, with organisers positioning AfCFTA as one of the continent’s most significant projects requiring effective delivery.
“Few initiatives embody the idea of Africa delivering together more powerfully than AfCFTA,” PMI said in a statement.
The organisation said the continental free trade pact has the potential to transform how African economies trade by creating a more integrated market.
It said Africa’s integration would depend on the ability to connect markets, facilitate the movement of goods and people, expand energy access and ease cross-border business.
“Behind all of this is the ability to deliver — having the right institutions, skills and project capability to turn continental ambition into real progress,” PMI said.
The two-day meeting will also feature senior figures from some of the continent’s key sectors.
Eskom chair Mteto Nyathi will speak on expanding energy access, while Flutterwave founder and chief executive Olugbenga Agboola will focus on financial and digital systems that can support intra-African trade.
Willem Botha, head of projects at Zutari, will participate in discussions on infrastructure and the drive towards a more connected continent.
With artificial intelligence increasingly reshaping economies, Cassava Technologies chief executive for South Africa and Botswana Ziaad Suleman will lead a session titled ‘Building Africa’s Own AI Future.’
The session will examine the infrastructure, skills and ecosystems needed to enable African countries to participate in the development of the next digital economy.
Other speakers include Karin van Rooyen of PM.Ideas and Sabrina Walter, founder of Women For Change and a member of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2026.
PMI Sub-Saharan Africa managing director George Asamani said Africa has no shortage of ambitious plans, pointing to the African Union’s Agenda 2063 flagship projects and national development programmes across the continent.
“What matters now is delivery,” Mr Asamani said.
He said the summit would give project professionals practical approaches and insights that they could apply in their organisations.
The opening panel, “The African Integration Story: Progress, Partnership, and Possibility,” will bring together Dagmawit Moges Bekele, director of the Peace Fund Secretariat at the African Union Commission; Rudi Dicks, head of the Project Management Office in the Private Office of the President of South Africa; and Dr Matthew Prempeh, former Ghanaian Minister for Education and Energy.
The discussion will be moderated by Armand Nzeyimana, director of Development Impact and Results at the African Development Bank.
Another session, -Establishing and Strengthening PMOs in the Public Sector,- will examine how governments can strengthen project management offices to improve implementation.
The panel will feature Sitati Olando, acting head of Kenya’s Government Delivery Unit,Stella Maris Nambaziira, head of PMO at Uganda Revenue Authority,Ben Peters, director of the Corporate Project, Programme and Portfolio Management Office at the City of Cape Town, and William Mpye, head of the Enterprise Programme Management Office at the South African Revenue Service.
PMO expert Americo Pinto will moderate the session.Mr Asamani said effective project management was key to turning government plans and investments into tangible results for citizens.
“Project management is ultimately about closing the distance between what we say we want to achieve and what people actually experience,” he said.
“Having the right strategy and investment is important, but delivery is what turns those plans into progress.”he added.
The Cape Town summit follows last year’s gathering in Kigali, Rwanda, which attracted more than 1,000 project professionals, industry leaders and government officials.
