The 16th UK–Africa Investment Summit has been rebuilt around a single question: what actually moves. On 11 September, six rooms off Whitehall will run on moderated conversation, pre-qualified meetings and named next actions. This is the briefing for everyone standing in them.
Delegates asked for engagement. The format has changed to give it to them.
Following feedback from delegates, UKAIS 2026 places its weight on moderated, interactive discussion rather than conventional presentations. Delegates asked for greater engagement with speakers, shorter interventions, more direct answers and more room to explore the practical issues that determine whether investment and commercial partnerships can progress.
The principal sessions will therefore operate as moderated strategic conversations. Unless you are delivering an agreed keynote, special address or sponsor spotlight, please do not prepare a conventional presentation or a lengthy speech. The moderator will establish the principal question, direct focused questions to individual speakers and bring other participants into the discussion.
Speakers should be concise and substantive. Initial interventions should normally focus on two or three important points, leaving time for follow-up questions, cross-panel discussion and delegate participation.
The objective is a serious conversation between government, investors, financiers and industry, not a sequence of individual speeches.UKAIS 2026 Working Principle
UKAIS 2026 Programme V1 is a working document for speakers, moderators and participating institutions. It is deliberately more detailed than the version delegates will receive. The final booklet carries an abridged public programme. This document remains the principal preparation and briefing tool.
Review it carefully, particularly the session in which you are participating. The talking points are a framework for discussion, not a script. No speaker is expected to answer every question. They exist to help moderators structure the conversation, reduce duplication and ensure each participant contributes from their own area of expertise.
Open UKAIS 2026 Programme V1 and comment directly in the document.
Three principal sessions, three spotlights, and a networking architecture built to convert.
| 08:30–08:55 | Delegate arrival, registration, briefing packs, tea and coffee |
| 08:55–09:20 | Housekeeping, welcome, introductions and opening remarks |
| 09:20–10:20 | Principal and special remarks |
| 10:20–10:40 | Special Address: UK–Uganda Investment Relationship |
| 10:40–11:00 | Chief Guest Address |
| 11:00–12:30 | Session 01: Beyond Extraction. Financing Resilient Critical-Mineral Supply Chains and Industrial Value Addition |
| 12:30–12:45 | Networking break and pre-matched investor introductions |
| 12:45–13:05 | Special Address |
| 13:05–13:45 | Networking lunch and parallel private lunches |
| 13:45–14:00 | Sponsor Spotlight: Inspire Africa Coffee |
| 14:00–15:20 | Session 02: Science, Technology, AI and Financial Infrastructure for Africa’s Next Growth Cycle |
| 15:20–15:35 | Sponsor Spotlight: Pearl Bank |
| 15:35–16:45 | Session 03: Energy, Power, Infrastructure and Industrial Corridors |
| 16:45–17:00 | Strategic Partner Spotlight: Old Mutual |
| 17:00–17:20 | Special Remarks: Security, Mobility and a Predictable Operating Environment |
| 17:20–17:30 | Closing Remarks and Summit Communiqué |
The detailed working programme sets out the session investment tests, speaker questions and moderator prompts for each of the three principal sessions.
The building is the strategy. Each space carries a different part of the day, from the main stage to the closed working meeting.
The principal Summit room. Everything on the public record happens here.
Report to the speaker coordination team before your session.
The commercial floor of the Summit. Registration, exhibition and the introductions that feed the Deal Room.
Qualified expressions of interest are directed towards Deal Room discussions and structured follow-up.
Private and curated business engagement, including scheduled B2B and B2G meetings and selected VIP discussions.
The Deal Room is built for pre-qualified meetings involving investors, project owners, government officials, financiers and commercial partners. These conversations are meant to move past general networking towards specific opportunities, requirements and next actions.
A parallel programme of closed, pre-booked meetings.
A working meeting on moving critical-mineral opportunities from extraction towards industrial value addition.
Selected government officials, mining investors, financiers and private-sector operators examine project pipelines, investor requirements, constraints and follow-up actions.
No formal audience. No presentations. The aim is to identify projects capable of entering due diligence, transaction structuring or active investor engagement.
The special private business lunch hosted by Pearl Bank, for a limited number of invited and approved participants.
The setting is designed for focused business, investment and institutional conversation. Places are limited and participation is by confirmation.
Delegates who wish to be considered should notify the UKAIS team as early as possible.
Additional spaces used throughout the day for curated one-to-one discussions. After the principal sessions, selected speakers, investors, project sponsors, government representatives and delegates may be directed here.
Room allocations are communicated through the UKAIS Deal Team.
What good looks like from the panel, from the chair, and on the screen behind you.
Prepare for a concise and interactive conversation. Review your proposed talking points in advance. Wherever possible, your responses should:
Where another speaker raises an important point, the moderator may invite you to respond directly. This is encouraged. The discussion should feel connected rather than run as a series of isolated interventions.
Moderators keep sessions focused, balanced, commercially relevant and engaging. Open with the principal investment or commercial question. Introduce speakers briefly and avoid reading long biographies. Direct each question to the person best placed to answer it.
Encourage concise answers and follow up where an answer needs clarification or evidence. Connect the contributions of different speakers and test competing views where appropriate. Protect time for delegate participation and prevent any single speaker from dominating. Move the discussion from general statements towards decisions and actions, and identify opportunities that should continue in private.
The purpose of UKAIS 2026 is not simply to hold good panel discussions.From Stage Discussion to Private Follow-Up
A projector and presentation facilities are available at the venue. Speakers, sponsors and participating organisations with slides, video, graphics or other material to be projected must send final files to the UKAIS team by Saturday, 5 September 2026.
Please supply PowerPoint and PDF versions, video in a standard format, any playback instructions, the speaker name and session, the organisation name, and a contact number for technical queries. Materials must be final and ready for use. Last-minute changes cannot be guaranteed.
In moderated sessions, projected material should support the discussion rather than turn it into a formal presentation. A single chart, transaction structure, project image, data point or investment proposition will usually do more work than a full deck.
Curated introductions, a private lunch, and a defined route from a point raised on a panel to a meeting in a closed room.
UKAIS will run a limited number of curated one-to-one meetings with investors, project owners, government officials and industry leaders. These are available exclusively to VIP Delegate Pass holders and remain subject to availability and acceptance. Submitting a request does not guarantee a confirmed meeting.
Slots are limited, so submit early. Where possible, state the organisation or type of counterpart you want to meet, the project or commercial opportunity, the amount and type of capital required, the proposed partnership or transaction, and the principal decision you are seeking.
One-to-One Meetings Form
VIP Delegate Pass
Pearl Bank hosts a special business lunch for a limited number of invited and approved participants, set up for more focused business, investment and institutional conversation. Delegates who would like to be considered should inform the UKAIS team in advance. Attendance is subject to capacity and confirmation.
The programme is designed to connect public dialogue with practical investment and commercial follow-through. Where an opportunity emerges during a session, the moderator and UKAIS Deal Team may invite the relevant parties to continue privately.
Setup, deliveries, specifications and approvals. Read this before you book a van.
Advance setup access opens on Thursday, 10 September 2026 from 12:00. Final setup access is available on Friday, 11 September 2026 from 06:00, and all stands must be fully completed by 08:30.
Complete your main setup on the Thursday. Friday morning is for final preparation only. All stands and exhibition teams must be ready and professionally presented before delegate activity begins.
The recommended delivery date is Thursday, 10 September 2026 from 12:00. All deliveries must be arranged with the UKAIS team in advance.
The Royal Horseguards Hotel & One Whitehall Place
2 Whitehall Court
London SW1A 2EJ
For the attention of: UK–Africa Investment Summit 2026
Exhibitor: [Your Company Name]
Every package must clearly show the company name, the onsite representative, a UK contact telephone number and the marking “UKAIS 2026 Exhibitor”.
Permitted materials include branded pull-up banners, printed collateral, tabletop displays, appropriate product samples and pre-approved tablets, screens and digital display equipment. External food, drink and edible promotional products are not permitted. Catering remains under the control of the venue.
Displays should normally be free-standing unless otherwise authorised. Custom-built stands, shell schemes, large structures and specialist equipment require prior approval from both the organisers and the venue. No materials may obstruct walkways, doors, fire exits or neighbouring stands.
Risk Assessment and Method Statement documents, commonly referred to as RAMS, may be required for equipment, structures or installation work. Exhibitors using only a standard table, printed collateral and a pull-up banner should still provide details of the intended setup so the organisers can confirm whether further documentation is needed.
The official Summit Magazine goes to print on Friday, 28 August 2026. Final advertisements, logos and approved artwork should be supplied as print-ready, high-resolution PDFs, with fonts embedded and appropriate bleed where required.
These exhibition arrangements apply only to confirmed sponsors and exhibitors whose space has been fully paid for and formally allocated. Exhibition space may not be transferred, shared or sublet without prior written approval.
One central London venue carries the whole Summit. Walk it before you get there.
The Royal Horseguards and One Whitehall Place hold the principal Summit, networking, exhibition, private meeting and hospitality spaces within a single building on Whitehall Court.
Recommended hotel. The Royal Horseguards offers onsite accommodation with limited discounted availability. Early booking is recommended. Reach the hotel at royalhorseguardshotel.com, on +44 (0)20 7523 5062, or at stay@royalhorseguardshotel.com.
Nearby options. Club Quarters Trafalgar Square, The Clermont Charing Cross, The Trafalgar St. James, Corinthia London, Great Scotland Yard Hotel, Strand Palace Hotel, hub by Premier Inn Westminster Abbey and Park Plaza Westminster Bridge.
Booking advice. Search using the venue postcode SW1A 2EJ and, where possible, choose accommodation within about one mile of the venue. Delegates are responsible for their own accommodation and travel arrangements.
International delegates. Arrange airport transfers in advance through a licensed taxi, a private-hire operator or a hotel transfer service.
Eleven things to clear between now and 11 September.
The detailed programme is not there to predetermine what speakers say. It exists so that every participant understands the purpose of their session, moderators can prepare properly, and limited stage time is used well. The strongest sessions will be the ones where speakers and moderators arrive ready to engage directly, answer the question actually being asked, produce practical evidence, and show delegates what it takes to move from opportunity to investment, partnership and execution.