Sierra Leone will host the inaugural West Africa Integration and Investment Summit (WAIIS) on 17–18 November 2026 at the Julius Maada Bio International Conference Centre (JMBICC) in Lungi, Port Loko District.
Convened by H.E. President Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone and immediate past Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, WAIIS proceeds under an ECOWAS Authority mandate based on recommendations of the 96th Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers, subsequently adopted by the Authority. The Summit advances President Bio’s call to return ECOWAS to its founding economic mission: integrated markets, infrastructure and investment.
Produced with global convening partner Richard Attias & Associates (RA&A) under the leadership of the President’s Special Envoy, WAIIS will bring together Heads of State, investors, buyers and project sponsors to Freetown to advance investment mandates, matches, announcements and transactions across four regional growth pillars: Energy Abundance and Green Industrialisation; Strategic Minerals and Natural Resource Development; Agribusiness and Food Systems Transformation; Digital Transformation and Connectivity.
A Mandated Platform for Investment Conversion
WAIIS feeds three conversion engines designed to move opportunities towards decisions and financial close:
- Investor Deal Room – matching opportunities with capital and preparation support
- Buyers’ Marketplace – connecting regional suppliers to anchor buyers
- Private‑sector roundtables and signing windows – resolving cross‑border constraints and advancing ready transactions
The result sought is practical regional integration: purchase orders, project‑development mandates, financing pathways, joint ventures and investable partnerships.
Prepared under the direction of the Summit’s Executive Secretariat—the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security (PI‑CREF) and the Africa Climate and Energy Nexus (AfCEN)—the preliminary regional longlist contains more than 170 opportunities with an indicative value of approximately US$180 billion.
WAIIS Gains Momentum in Kigali on the Road to Freetown
At the Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, WAIIS soft‑launched the West Africa Rice Investment Facility, the first window of a proposed US$1 billion regional Agribusiness and Rice Sovereignty Facility. The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) announced US$100 million in proposed support towards the Facility.
Under the Digital Transformation pillar, WAIIS is assembling a regional pipeline aligned with the continental AI 10 Billion Initiative, designed to mobilise up to US$10 billion by 2035. The pipeline includes pathways for AI infrastructure, entrepreneurship, skills development and responsible adoption.
Ahead of the Summit, a strategic minerals investment-readiness programme is planned. In parallel, a proposed Youth and Innovation Programme—including a Youth Sprint, an Innovation Challenge and a hackathon—would connect selected ventures with mentoring, buyer and investor matchmaking, and the pillar Deal Rooms.
Private‑Sector Leadership at the Heart of WAIIS
On 20 August, President Bio convened the inaugural dialogue of the WAIIS Private Sector Advisory Board (PSAB), signalling his commitment to ensuring that the Summit is guided by business insight and market realities. Nominees to the PSAB are being asked to challenge pipeline priorities, identify cross‑border constraints, anchor investor roundtables and bring transactions directly into the screening process.
H.E. President Julius Maada Bio said: “For more than five decades, ECOWAS has built the foundations for regional integration. WAIIS is about turning those foundations into investment, trade, jobs and resilience. In Freetown, we will put decision‑makers, capital, buyers and credible projects at the same table. Our measure of success will be the transactions advanced, commitments signed and partnerships carried into execution.”
The Summit’s strategic preparation and investment‑conversion agenda is led by Hon. Dr Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, President Bio’s Special Envoy for WAIIS and Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security (PI-CREF).
Dr Yumkella noted: “WAIIS is not another political summit. Since January, ministers, financiers, companies and technical teams have worked through four pillar Technical Working Groups, the Expert Group Meeting and the Deal Room to prepare Freetown’s decisions. The opportunity is real; capital providers want credible pathways. My responsibility is to bring credible projects, buyers and capital together—and ensure every outcome has an owner, a timetable and a disciplined path towards financial close.”
A key architect of the Summit framework, Dr Yumkella previously served as Director‑General of UNIDO, Chair of UN‑Energy, UN Under‑Secretary‑General and Special Representative of the Secretary‑General and founding CEO of Sustainable Energy for All. Under his stewardship, WAIIS is designed to move credible opportunities towards investor decisions, formal agreements and financial close.
From Summit Moment to Continuous Delivery
WAIIS is being established as a year‑round execution platform until 2030. The Co‑Executive Secretariat will maintain the regional pipeline, commitment register and investor‑project matching system; coordinate sponsors, buyers, investors and preparation partners; and track progress towards financial close using the AI‑enabled pipeline intelligence and Deal Room infrastructure developed during the Summit’s preparation phase.
Around 1,000 participants are expected, including Heads of State and Government, leading African and international CEOs, investors and development finance institutions. Participation in the Deal Room is by application and invitation only. Interested institutions can register at www.waiis.org.
As the global convening and production partner for WAIIS, Richard Attias & Associates (RA&A) leverages its international network, convening power and global media reach to shape the Summit experience and amplify WAIIS to decision‑makers, investors and strategic audiences worldwide.
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