By Derrick Silimina

The drive to bridge Africa’s massive infrastructure and sustainable development financing gaps has taken center stage at the Africa Impact Summit (AIS) 2026, currently underway at the Ciela Resort & Spa in Lusaka.

Gathering global and regional investors, leaders from Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), commercial banks, and central bank regulators, the second day shifted the narrative from high-level policy dialogue to high-stakes, structured deal-making.

“For the Bank of Zambia, we have undertaken a deliberate overhaul of the regulatory framework through amendments to the Banking and Financial Services Act and the National Payment Systems Act as well as the enactment of the Zambia Deposit Insurance Corporation Act,” BoZ Deputy Governor (Operations) Francis Chipimo said.

Dr. Chipimo added that in 2025, the central bank issued the Banking and Financial Services (Deposit Insurance) Directives which brought into effect the current arrangement of the Deposit Insurance Scheme within the BoZ.

He noted that these reforms are intended to provide a stable foundation upon which the Zambian financial ecosystem can continue to grow.

With a clear mandate to move capital toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the summit’s second day featured specialized transaction rooms and investment pipelines tailored for critical sectors, including renewable energy transition, climate-smart agriculture, and digital financial infrastructure across the continent.

“What we are seeing in Lusaka this week is a deliberate effort to match capital directly with heavily vetted, market-ready projects,” Strategic Lead of the Small Business Growth Initiative (SBGI) Austin Mwape stated.

Dr. Mwape stressed that the challenge has rarely been a lack of capital; it is about structuring bankable opportunities that align commercial returns with measurable impact.

As the summit heads into its final sessions, organizers expect several landmark investment pacts and letters of intent in the clean energy and financial technology spaces to be formalized, cementing the event’s reputation as an active market for real-world African deal-making.