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Venture Capital, Private Markets & Global Partners - Exploring Trends, Opportunities and Dealflow for Canada-Africa Collaboration
14 May 2026
V&A Waterfront
Cape Town, South Africa
During the G20 Leaders Summit, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced commitments related to financing, alongside trade and investment, in African markets.
Arising from these announcements, the program welcomed leading investors, institutional partners, policymakers, and project developers - to explore the capital flows shaping the future of Canadian and African competitiveness.
"This forum offers a valuable opportunity for leaders from government, finance, and industry to explore new pathways for investment and partnership. By fostering dialogue and advancing practical solutions, we can unlock opportunities that benefit communities and economies alike.”
- The Right Honourable Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada
The Forum assessed key drivers of capital formation and deal activity, from high-growth startups to large-scale infrastructure and resource projects - highlighting opportunities in venture capital and private equity across numerous sectors, alongside the growing role of institutional investors in enabling blended finance and co-investment. Recordings are available to all members.
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Time |
Session / Activity |
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08:00 |
Arrival & Registration |
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09:00 |
Opening Ceremony - Livebroadcast Welcome Address: Garreth Bloor, President, The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business
Major News Announcement |
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09:55
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Session 1: Venture Capital Keynote Session Address – Zachariah George, Founder & Managing Partner at Launch Africa Ventures Panel 1: Enabling Rapid Growth through Investment In conversation with founders who have successfully raised venture capital building companies across Africa for global growth. Velani Mboweni, Co-founder and CEO, LÜLA Lesego Tladinyane, Advisor, Finance & Partnerships, Shiprazor; General Partner, Newtown Partners |
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11:00 |
Networking Break |
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11:25
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Session 2: Private Markets and Institutional Investing Keynote: Ntlai Mosiah, Executive Director at Autonomi Capital Panel 2: Deploying Capital at Scale in Private Markets: Wholesale Capital and Institutional Investment Pathways Nat Micklem, Co-Head of Emerging Market Alternative Credit, NinetyOne Canada |
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12:25 |
Canada-Africa Provincial Collaboration in Blended Finance- Quebec Remarks by Minister Deidré Baartman, Minister of Finance, Western Cape Provincial Government |
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13:30 |
Session 3: Doing Business with the African Development Bank (AfDB) Kennedy K. Mbekeani | Director General, African Development Bank Group Canada with its partners, including numerous African countries, is a proud funder of the African Development Bank – to unlock major projects across the continent, including in support of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. Following the AfDB President’s program in Toronto, this workshop for Chamber members and conference guests will focus on doing business with the bank. Canada holds a permanent seat on the AfDB Board of Directors and is the fourth-largest non-African shareholder to the Bank |
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14:10 |
Session 4: Natural Resource Development Capital Markets - The Role of the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) in Financing Africa’s Critical Minerals & Clean Energy Presentation by Wayne Floreani, Founder & Executive Director MineAfrica Inc Democratising access to the mining sector for all Africans: An invitation to Canadian partners. In Conversation with Janade du Plessis, Fund Manager, Africans for Africa
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14:30 |
Session 5: Structuring Projects for Bankability & Investment– Down to the Details for Canada-Africa Collaboration Presentations and interactive discussions include: Claude Gendron, Director, Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) supports Canadian businesses to build successful commercial relationships. Ebenise Bester, Director, Funds, FinDev Canada - Canada's development finance institution (DFI), supporting the private sector in developing markets to promote sustainable development. Andrew Apampa, Associate Director, Convergence Blended Finance, the global network for blended finance, including data, intelligence and deal flow to increase private sector investment. Update: In partnership with Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Convergence has announced the first cohort of fund and asset managers selected under the Blended Finance Accelerator for Fund Managers (A4FM). Selected vehicles span multiple asset classes, including private equity, credit, and venture capital, and target critical areas such as small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) financing, climate adaptation, and job creation. |
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15:30
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High-Level Reflections Canadian Fund Management & Advisory across Africa - An on-the- ground perspective Refreshments Break |
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15:55 |
Session 6: VC Experiences in Partnership with Canada: Building a Pipeline of Major Future Projects |
| 16:15 |
Closing Address & Next Steps: Garreth Bloor, President, The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business |
PS Rob Oliphant, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, addressed delegates underscoring Canadas' Africa Strategy, launched by PS Oliphant last year.
Discussions included:
- Canada-Africa investment opportunities and parameters for deals from various investors and financing partners.
- Trends for de-risking investments, including prerequisites to attract institutional capital, with a focus on critical minerals, infrastructure and energy.
- Case studies of successful transactions across sectors.
- View Photos from the Program
About Us
As part of the Chamber’s mission to accelerate trade and investment, this event provides a platform where deals can be initiated, relationships strengthened, and strategic insights shared. We are an independent association and funded by our sponsoring members. The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business neither seeks nor accepts taxpayer funding to carry out our mission. We are grateful to our sponsors who make our work possible.
During Prime Minister Mark Carney's message to our February program in Windhoek, the Prime Minister thanked "the Canada-Africa Chamber of Business for convening leaders from across Canada and Africa to advance investment, trade, and partnership - connecting businesses and institutions to drive practical collaboration and shared growth," in a read-out to delegates.
The Financing Forum reinforces the Chamber’s longstanding commitment to convening leaders who are shaping the future of economic cooperation between Canada and African markets, including our global partners from around the world.
The Chamber President, Garreth Bloor, (left) thanks Deepak Dave (right), a member of our Senior Advisory Council for serving as Program Chair. Deepak Dave is a director at Autonomi Capital, who we are pleased to recognize as a partner in our first-ever Canada-Africa Financing Forum
We are also proud to recognize Launch Africa as a supporting partner in delivering the program. Launch Africa has invested in, grown and scaled more than 150 startups across Africa solving critical challenges across multiple sectors.