Agriculture Summit Africa (ASA) has announced Sunbeth Global Concepts as Co-Convener of its 2026 edition, strengthening a platform increasingly positioned at the intersection of policy, capital, enterprise and the practical work of transforming Africa’s food systems.
Scheduled for September 15–16, 2026 in Abuja, ASA 2026 will convene leaders from across government, agribusiness, finance, development, technology, investment and farming under the theme ‘Building the Next Superpower: Africa’s Food Power Play’.
Now in its 9th year, ASA has brought together stakeholders from across the agricultural ecosystem around the structural issues limiting the continent’s ability to translate its vast agricultural resources into food security, stronger domestic industries and greater economic influence. For this edition, that conversation becomes even more pointed as it seeks actionable answers to the question of what it will take for Africa to move from being a continent with enormous agricultural potential to becoming a genuine global food power.
Sunbeth brings an important commercial perspective to that question. With operations across agricultural commodity sourcing, farmer networks, exports, trade and an expanding focus on local processing and value addition, the company operates directly within many of the value-chain dynamics that ASA 2026 seeks to address.
Dr. Olushola Obikanye, Group Head, Agric Finance and Solid Minerals at Sterling Bank, commented on the return of Sunbeth as the Summit’s co-convener for the second year running, saying, “Transforming African agriculture requires a value chain that works from the farm gate through processing, distribution and market access. Hence, the continued participation of experienced operators such as Sunbeth strengthens ASA’s ability to connect policy and finance with the realities of agricultural production and markets.”
Speaking on the partnership, Olasunkanmi Owoyemi, Chief Executive Officer, Sunbeth Global Concepts Limited, said the company’s role as Co-Convener reflects a shared conviction that the next phase of Africa’s agricultural development must be driven by stronger collaboration between those who produce, finance, regulate, process and take agricultural products to market.
“Africa’s agricultural opportunity has never really been in doubt. What matters now is our ability to build the systems that convert that opportunity into productive farms, competitive businesses, stronger processing capacity, functioning markets and sustainable prosperity. That is why Agriculture Summit Africa matters. It brings together the people who influence different parts of that system and creates the opportunity to move beyond identifying the problems towards building practical solutions. As Co-Convener, we are bringing the perspective of an operator that works directly with producers, commodities and markets, and we believe that perspective is critical to the wider conversation about Africa becoming a food power,” Owoyemi stated.
The 2026 summit’s discourse will examine critical issues around agricultural finance, processing and value addition, infrastructure, technology, climate resilience, market access, intra-African trade and the policies required to make agriculture more productive and commercially sustainable. Its focus comes at a time when food security has become inseparable from questions of economic resilience, industrial development and national competitiveness across the continent.
The scale of the opportunity is considerable. According to the African Development Bank’s 2026 Annual Development Effectiveness Review, agriculture accounts for about 17 per cent of Africa’s GDP, while the continent, despite holding nearly 65 per cent of the world’s uncultivated arable land, still relies on an estimated US$70 billion in food imports annually. The gap underscores the opportunity to strengthen domestic production, processing and value addition, deepen regional trade and retain more of the economic value generated by Africa’s growing food demand.
Rather than treating agriculture primarily as a development challenge, ASA 2026 will interrogate its potential as one of Africa’s most important engines of enterprise, trade, employment and economic power.
Ahead of the main conference, the Summit commenced its 2026 programme with a grassroots engagement in Oyo, empowering 300 smallholder farmers with knowledge and resources on climate-smart agriculture, market readiness and digital farming. That decision to begin at the grassroots reflects the platform’s effort to connect the experiences of producers with the decisions being taken by policymakers, financiers, investors and businesses further along the agricultural value chain.
As stakeholders converge for the 2026 edition next week, the ambition is therefore to strengthen the relationships, ideas, investments and commitments required to build an African food system capable of feeding its people, creating greater value from what the continent produces, and competing more effectively in global markets.
Stakeholders across the agriculture value chain are encouraged to join the conversation and register for the conference at agricsummit.org.
