UNGC at ARFSD-12

Private Sector Forum 

at the 

12th Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD), 28-30 April 2026

From Capital to Impacts: Scaling Private Sector Finance to Move Forward Faster for the SDGs in Africa

Organised by UN Global Compact, UNECA and UNDP

Date: 27 April 2026 | Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The UN Global Compact will convene a Private Sector Forum to move Forward Faster with the Private Sector on the SDGs on the sidelines of the 12th edition of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-12) taking place from 28 to 30 April 2026 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This year's theme is Turning the Tide: Transformative and Coordinated Actions for the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063, and the ARFSD serves as an annual intergovernmental platform for African countries to assess progress, share best practices, and develop policy solutions for the 2030 Agenda. It also assists countries in presenting their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) at the global High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) and other major national, regional, and international meetings.

The Twelfth Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-12) is explicitly framed as a moment for transformative and coordinated action, for moving from commitments to execution, and for generating implementable and financed interventions. Within this logic, the Private Sector Forum, organized with the UN Global Compact, UNECA and UNDP, will serve as a practical, action-orientated implementation and partnership-building track of ARFSD, contributing concrete inputs to the SDG 17 discussions, the financing track and the Impact Labs and strengthening Africa’s position going into the 2026 High Level Political Forum and post-2030 debates.

Policy and Thematic Focus

In line with the ARFSD-12 priorities, the PSF will focus on the following SDGs in this strategic order, reflecting where private capital, industry, finance and delivery systems can move the needle fastest, while recognising that all five are deeply interconnected.

• SDG 6 - Water and sanitation: Utility reform and private participation models - Desalination, wastewater and circular water systems - City-scale water infrastructure.
• SDG 7 – Energy: Grid and off-grid systems - Transmission and storage - Gas-to-power transition systems - Industrial energy solutions SDG 11 - Sustainable cities and communities: Affordable housing finance – urban transport and waste - Climate-resilient city infrastructure.
• SDG 9 - Industry, innovation and infrastructure, and value chains: Industrial parks and manufacturing zones - Logistics and trade corridors - Digital and data infrastructure - Agro industrial value chains.
• SDG 17 - Partnerships and financing systems: Blended finance platforms – Sovereign and sub-sovereign credit enhancement – Pension and insurance capital mobilization – Regional project aggregation vehicles.
  
  

Objectives

The overall objective is to mobilise private sector capital, delivery capacity and partnerships to accelerate implementation of the SDGs and Agenda 2063 through concrete, scalable and financed interventions.

Ahead of the ARFSD-12, the Private Sector Forum will convene committed business leaders from across Africa on 27 April 2026, to raise awareness and ambitions on the business case for the SDGs, share experiences and impact stories from businesses that are taking action, and highlight practical tools that businesses can leverage to move Forward Faster on the Agenda 2030 in Africa.

Specific objectives

• To diagnose why Africa is not converting enough capital into projects at scale, and identify practical mechanisms to reduce risk, pool capital and build pipelines;
• To showcase proven African and global models that work at scale;
• To generate concrete inputs into the Impact Labs, financing discussions and partnership track of ARFSD.

What to Expect—Why Attend:

• Fireside Chat: Hear from leading African business executives on how they are taking transformative action aligned with the SDGs.
  
• Panels and Roundtables: Gain insights, best practices and inspirations from pioneering African companies and government officials on impactful or promising initiatives in the areas of sustainable finance, including the Global Compact's Forward Faster initiative.
  
• Speaker or Participant in the ARFSD-12 from 28 to 30 April: Represent the business perspectives in the discussions at the main ARFSD, showcase your business experience and share your thoughts. 
• Networking: Forge meaningful connections and partnerships with peers, policymakers, and sustainability experts.