The Africa Prosperity Network (APN) has opened registration for the 2027 edition of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD 2027), scheduled to take place from January 27 to 29, 2027, at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra.
The three-day conference will be held under the theme, “The Borderless Africa We Want: Move Freely. Pay Seamlessly. Trade More,” with a focus on advancing Africa’s economic integration and creating opportunities for businesses to trade and invest across the continent.
According to the APN, APD 2027 will bring together governments, regulators, businesses and institutions to examine practical measures for removing barriers to the movement of people, payments and trade across Africa.
The network said the conference responds to growing calls, particularly from young people and small and medium-scale enterprises, for visa-free travel and seamless cross-border digital payments that allow Africans to buy and sell across the continent using mobile money wallets.
“APD 2027 will bring together the leaders shaping how people move, goods reach markets, investments cross borders and Africans buy and sell beyond national boundaries. The focus must now shift from reflection to urgent implementation,” Chairperson of the APN Advisory Council, Dr Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma, said.
Africa has committed to creating a single continental market of more than 1.5 billion people, but the APN said inadequate political will, growing anti-immigration measures and persistent administrative, financial and infrastructure barriers continue to restrict the movement of people, capital, goods and services.
The conference will therefore examine the implementation of existing African Union free-movement protocols, as well as the reforms, infrastructure, financing and commercial partnerships required to make the continent’s single market work for people and businesses.
The APN also said APD 2027 will advance its Make Africa Borderless Now! campaign and its Borderless Africa Agenda 2030, which are built around two ambitions: achieving a visa-free Africa and establishing a fully interconnected continental digital payments network.
Dr Kofi Nyarko-Pong, Chief Operations Officer of the Africa Prosperity Network, said the conference would bring together key players capable of turning Africa’s integration ambitions into measurable outcomes.
“We are bringing together the governments, regulators, businesses and institutions capable of dismantling the barriers to movement, payments and trade,” he said.
He said these included banks, telecommunications companies, fintechs, airlines, logistics operators, manufacturers, technology firms, investors and development finance institutions working with policymakers.
“The value of APD lies not simply in who is in the room, but in what comes out of it: new market opportunities, commercial partnerships, practical policy solutions and firm commitments that make it easier for Africans to move, pay and trade across borders,” he added.
Four areas of focus
APD 2027 will centre on four interconnected areas considered directly relevant to business and investment.
Move Freely will focus on aviation, mobility and smart borders, including visa openness, aviation connectivity, e-visas, digital identity, business and labour mobility, tourism, road and rail connectivity and smarter border systems.
Pay Seamlessly will examine payments, fintech and digital commerce, with discussions covering the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), local-currency settlement, mobile money interoperability, bank-to-wallet connectivity, remittances, SME payments, digital identity, e-KYC, e-commerce and consumer protection.
Connect Africa will focus on digital infrastructure, telecommunications and artificial intelligence, including fibre connectivity, 5G, data centres, cloud infrastructure, satellite connectivity, cybersecurity, digital public infrastructure, AI and cross-border data flows.
The fourth area, Trade More, will address trade finance, ports, transport corridors, customs, logistics, SME financing, manufacturing, regional value chains and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The programme will feature the Business and Policy Leaders’ Dialogue, Presidential and Business Leaders’ Dialogue, CEO and Executive Roundtables, Deal Rooms and Masterclasses, Policy Workshops, Side Meetings, the ProjetAfrique Exhibition, as well as targeted business-to-business and business-to-government engagements.
APD 2027 builds on 2026 participation
The 2027 edition follows what the APN described as the most successful edition since the annual series began.
APD 2026 attracted more than 6,400 delegates from 94 countries, including representatives from all 51 African countries, according to the network.
However, the main conference hall at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City can accommodate approximately 1,000 delegates at a time, prompting the APN to encourage prospective participants to register early.
The wider programme will run across multiple spaces during the three days, while the Day One pass will provide access to nine sector-specific mini-conferences.
Registration categories
Five registration categories are available at early-bird rates: a Side Event Pass at US$50 for Day One, a Student Pass at US$50 for all three days, a Delegate Pass at US$100 for all three days, a VIP Pass at US$300 and a Corporate Pass at US$1,000 for up to four representatives.
The Corporate Pass offers reserved seating, executive hospitality, premium conference materials, priority consideration for CEO and executive roundtables, and facilitated business-to-business and business-to-government engagement support.
The APN said APD 2027 would also leverage Ghana’s Head of State, President John Dramani Mahama, becoming Chairperson of the African Union next year to intensify advocacy for the implementation of essential continental integration protocols.
The conference is scheduled to take place just weeks before the 40th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in February 2027.
Registration for APD 2027 is now open through the Africa Prosperity Network.
