The Africa Markets Conference 2026 (AMC26) kicks off in Cape Town today, bringing together economists and other experts to unpack the continent’s markets and respond to the demands of a new world order dominated by uncertainty and market volatility.
Coming in the backdrop of trade tensions sparked by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the conference, in its second year, is hosted by Standard Bank, Africa’s biggest lender by asset.
AMC26 seeks to mobilise global capital to invest in the continent in the face of geopolitical shifts wreaking havoc on markets, driven by biting tariffs from the Trump government, which has waged a trade war with key economies including most of the Global South.
Brics member countries such as China, India, Brazil and South Africa have not been spared by Trump’s trade tariffs wrath, forcing many countries to look for practical ways to cushion their economies from the onslaught.
Coming on the eve of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s budget speech in Cape Town on Wednesday, the conference will feature top speakers such as former United Nations secretary general Ban Ki- moon, Standard Bank Group CEO Sim Tshabalala, Yvonne Mhango (African economist at Bloomberg Economics), Dr. Michael Power (former global strategist at Ninety One Kaskazi Consulting) and Standard Bank chief economist Goolam Ballim.
On Sunday the conference explored the continent’s creative economy with panelists such as US-based comedian Trevor Noah, Laduma Ngxokolo (founder of MaXhosa Africa), artist Nelson Makamo and Dele Olejede, founder and host of Africa to the World Festival.
The conference’s first panel, “A New World Order: Geopolitics and Macroeconomics”, will be moderated by top business and financial journalist Gugu Mfuphi, host of Kaya Biz on Kaya FM. It will feature Ballin, Power and Mhango. This high-level panel is expected to make sense of the shifting global economy’s impact.
The second panel, themed “Deepening African Capital Markets and Mobilising Private Capital,” will feature John Gandolfo, vice president and chief financial officer of the International Finance Corporation, Ranulf Couldrey, director of Cantor Fitzgerald Europe, Grant Howarth, director and principal of Metier Private Equity; and Erik Wandrag, CEO of Oceans Finance Company.
AMC26 will also look at issues such as the risks and returns of investing in Africa, the role of domestic investors and commercial banks in infrastructure development, intra-Africa trade, accelerating access to energy and the future of money in the era of AI-driven payment ecosystems.
The conference ends on Tuesday.
AMC26 seeks to mobilise global capital to invest in the continent in the face of geopolitical shifts wreaking havoc on markets
