West Africa Integration & Investment Summit
Delivered by PI-CREF and AfCEN.
The West Africa Integration & Investment Summit brings 15 countries together around four pillars: energy trade, strategic minerals, agribusiness and digital.
- Dates
- 16–18 November 2026, with a pre-summit programme from 10 November
- Venue
- Julius Maada Bio International Conference Centre, Lungi, Sierra Leone (pre-summit in Freetown)
- West African states
- 15
- Project pipeline
- US$180 billion+ across four pillars
- Expected participants
- 1,000+
What WAIIS 2026 is
The West Africa Integration & Investment Summit (WAIIS) 2026 is a political, investment and deal-making summit for West Africa. It is convened by H.E. Brigadier (Rtd.) Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, and Sierra Leone hosts the inaugural edition.
The summit connects regional priorities with capital. It brings Heads of State, ministers, investors, development finance institutions, business leaders and project owners together around four investment pillars: energy, strategic minerals, agribusiness and digital.
WAIIS is delivered by PI-CREF and AfCEN. It is built to deliver outcomes beyond the summit itself: commitments are tracked through a WAIIS Investment Scorecard and annual ministerial reviews, and projects are advanced through the WAIIS Secretariat. The summit is being prepared on AfCEN Convene.
Gallery
A look inside WAIIS 2026. Select a picture to see it full size.
Introductory video coming soon
Until then, ask MANSA for a quick tour of WAIIS 2026.
How it works
From first visit to results.
Request an invitation
Register your interest online. Attendance is by invitation and approved by the WAIIS Secretariat.
Receive your invitation
Confirmed participants get a formal invitation with joining instructions.
Join the pre-summit
From 10 November, policy preparation, sector dialogues, project development and Youth in Action sessions run in Freetown.
Take part in the summit
Heads of State dialogues, private sector sessions, pillar sessions, the Deal Room and the commitment plenary.
Follow through
Commitments are tracked after the summit through the Investment Scorecard and annual ministerial reviews.
What you can do with it
Four investment pillars
Power to Grow (energy and green industrialisation), Minerals to Industry, Food at Scale (agribusiness and food systems) and Connect to Compete (digital and connectivity).
WAIIS Deal Room
Selected projects meet qualified investors, financial institutions, development partners and operators. Projects are prepared and matched in advance by sector, stage, financing need and investor interest. The cycle is screen, match, meet, advance, track.
Heads of State dialogues
Sessions that set the regional political mandate and leadership decisions.
Private sector and pillar sessions
Investors and business leaders put commercial priorities before political leadership, and each pillar brings policy, capital and pipelines together.
Commitment plenary and scorecard
What moves forward and who owns the next action, tracked through the WAIIS Investment Scorecard.
Youth in Action and Women in Business Leadership
Young West Africans bring their priorities into the summit, and a dedicated track advances women's economic participation across all four pillars.
Who it’s for
Heads of State, ministers and regional institutions
A regional platform to set a political mandate and put national priorities in front of capital.
Investors, DFIs, banks and funds
Prepared projects matched to their sector, stage and ticket, with structured Deal Room meetings.
Project owners and sponsors
A route to curated investor meetings and tracked follow-up after the summit.
Partners and exhibitors
A deal-focused platform with structured Deal Rooms, high-level engagement and exhibition space included in partnership packages.
Connected to the AfCEN intelligence layer
Every WAIIS project sits in the same AfCEN intelligence graph as corridors and countries, so investors see the evidence behind it and governments see how it connects to their pipeline.
Works hand in hand with
AfCEN Convene
LiveTurns programmes, working groups and live events into governed collaboration, investable opportunities, verified commitments and follow-through.
View platform
Deal Room
LiveOne place where projects are prepared, assessed and introduced to investors. AfCEN runs each step, and every result shows where it came from.
View platform
AI 10Bn
LiveThe continental initiative turning national AI priorities into bankable, financeable projects.
View platformSectors it serves
Energy
Generation, transmission, markets and infrastructure.
19 corridor projects tracked
Minerals
Resources, projects and infrastructure intelligence.
12 corridor projects tracked
Agriculture
Agribusiness systems, value chains and infrastructure.
3 corridor projects tracked
Digital
Digital infrastructure, connectivity and emerging opportunities.
3 corridor projects tracked
Questions people ask
How do I attend?
Register your interest on waiis.org. Attendance is by invitation and subject to approval by the WAIIS Secretariat. Registering interest does not confirm a place.
Where is it held?
The summit is at the Julius Maada Bio International Conference Centre in Lungi, Sierra Leone. Pre-summit sessions take place in Freetown.
Can my organisation partner or exhibit?
Yes. There are three partnership levels: Premier, Strategic and Supporting. Each includes exhibition space. Contact partners@waiis.org.
Do I need a visa?
ECOWAS citizens do not need a visa before arrival. Most other visitors apply for a Sierra Leone eVisa in advance. A yellow fever certificate is generally required.
How does AfCEN fit in?
WAIIS is delivered by PI-CREF and AfCEN, and the summit is being prepared on AfCEN Convene. Young builders can also enter the Salone AI Youth Innovation Challenge, whose winners are announced in Freetown during WAIIS.
Get started with WAIIS 2026
Request your invitation at waiis.org, or write to partners@waiis.org to partner or exhibit.