Africa’s climate ambitions are running up against a widening financing gap, with new data showing that Sub‑Saharan Africa receives only about 25 percent of the climate funding it needs each year, according to a news by APA.

The shortfall, highlighted in the Africa Climate Finance Tracking Report 2025, is forcing governments and investors to confront the growing divide between climate commitments and the ability to deliver bankable, investment-ready projects.

It is against this backdrop that policymakers, financiers and project developers will gather in Cape Town from 24–27 February for the Africa Green Economy Summit (AGES) 2026.

The meeting aims to shift the continent from high‑level pledges to the practical work of structuring and financing green and blue economy projects capable of reaching implementation.

Africa continues to receive a disproportionately small share of global climate finance, even as climate shocks, energy shortages and water stress intensify. Declining concessional funding and rising competition for private capital are accelerating a shift toward investment‑led approaches and stronger project pipelines.

“Global climate discussions often focus on commitments and coordination, but delivery ultimately depends on where capital decisions are made,” said Emmanuelle Nicholls, Group Director for Green Economy at VUKA Group.

“Africa’s Green Economy Summit creates a space to examine which projects, in which markets, are ready to meet today’s financial realities and move toward implementation.”

Unlike global climate forums focused on declarations, the summit will examine why capital is flowing into some markets and stalling in others, and what conditions – such as regulatory certainty, risk allocation and investment readiness – are needed to close deals.

Teboho Makhabane, Head of ESG and Impact at Sanlam Investments, said the real constraint is not a shortage of ideas but a shortage of financing structures that meet projects where they are.

The African Union will return as host, using the platform to conclude Phase I of its Green Recovery Action Plan and set priorities for Phase II.

The summit will also feature an Investment Pitch and Showcase presenting more than 50 vetted African projects across renewable energy, water resilience, electric mobility, waste‑to‑value and climate‑smart agriculture.

Organisers say the summit aims to accelerate a more grounded, investment‑ready phase of climate action across the continent.