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CEM Africa 2026: Africa’s CX Leaders Meet in Cape Town

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Final programme brings together senior CX leaders, practical workshops, technology showcases and high-value industry conversations from 18–20 August 2026

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, August 14, 2026/APO Group/ –CEM Africa 2026 will return to the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town from 18–20 August, bringing together senior customer experience, marketing, digital, customer service, technology and transformation leaders for the 14th edition of Africa’s leading customer experience summit.

With organisations across the continent under growing pressure to improve customer outcomes while navigating AI adoption, automation, rising expectations, fragmented journeys and commercial scrutiny, the 2026 programme has been built around a central question: how can businesses use technology to improve customer experience at scale without losing trust, relevance or the human connection?

Across three days, CEM Africa will combine strategic conference discussions, hands-on workshops, technology demonstrations, an exhibition, networking activations and peer-to-peer exchange, giving delegates the opportunity to move from big-picture industry questions to practical frameworks they can apply inside their organisations.

A speaker line-up rooted in real CX leadership

The 2026 speaker faculty brings together leaders working directly across customer experience, marketing, digital transformation, customer service, commerce, technology and organisational change.

Among those joining CEM Africa 2026 are:

  • Bruce Whitfield, business journalist and best-selling author
  • Khensani Nobanda, Group Chief Marketing Officer, Nedbank
  • Francois Retief, Head of Customer Experience, FNB
  • Martin Urrutia, global toy industry leader
  • Marnitz Van Heerden, Head of Customer Experience, Discovery Limited
  • Grace Brown, Head of Customer Experience and Client Services, JSE
  • Khwaṱhelani Tshikovhi, Head: Santam Experience and Client Care, Santam Insurance
  • Shaun Edmeston, Director of Customer Experience, Absa Bank Mauritius
  • Job Thomas, Chief Customer Officer, WooCommerce
  • Richie Sobayeni, Group Head of Customer Experience Design, Equity Group Holdings
  • Julia Ahlfeldt, Customer Experience Strategist and Business Advisor
  • Rashid Toefy, Deputy Director-General, Department of Economic Development and Tourism
  • Katie Stabler, Founder and Director, CULTIVATE Customer Experience by Design
  • Charlie Stewart, CEO, Rogerwilco
  • Omowunmi Akingbohungbe, Executive Director, WIMBIZ
  • Wavi Mungala, Board Director, Institute of CX – Kenya

The wider faculty spans financial services, retail, technology, insurance, e-commerce, public sector, consulting and customer operations, reflecting the increasingly cross-functional nature of customer experience.

From AI experimentation to measurable outcomes

Artificial intelligence will be one of the defining conversations at CEM Africa 2026, but the programme moves beyond broad speculation about AI to focus on where organisations are seeing – or still struggling to achieve – real operational and commercial value.

Day One will examine how African organisations can move from AI pilots to production, including governance, data readiness, agent co-pilots, voice AI, speech analytics, conversational AI and AI-driven personalisation.

The agenda also tackles the questions surrounding responsible adoption. Sessions will examine AI governance and ethics, privacy, POPIA, customer consent and the challenge of automating at scale without damaging trust.

A dedicated discussion, “Will AI Make Your Brand More Trustworthy?”, will explore whether increased automation strengthens customer confidence or risks undermining it, before the day closes its content programme with the audience-led town hall “Will Humans Still Matter in a World of AI-Driven Customer Experience?”

Data, insight and the business case for CX

For leaders under pressure to demonstrate the commercial return on customer experience investment, CEM Africa will put measurement firmly on the agenda.

Workshops will address customer data quality, real-time insight, first-party data strategy, predictive analytics and Voice of Customer, alongside practical sessions on building an end-to-end CX scorecard, customer lifetime value and mapping journey costs.

Delegates will also be able to explore how to prove CX ROI to executive teams, connecting customer experience activity to revenue uplift, churn reduction, operational efficiency and cost-to-serve.

The emphasis throughout is on turning customer insight into decisions and measurable business outcomes rather than collecting more data without action.

Designing customer journeys that work in African markets

The programme will also address the practical realities of customer engagement across diverse African markets.

Topics include omnichannel journey design, mobile-first experiences, WhatsApp as a service channel, self-service, proactive CX and reducing friction across high-volume journeys such as onboarding, billing, claims and fulfilment.

Sessions will examine how organisations can create accessible experiences for customers with different levels of digital literacy, connectivity and channel preference, while maintaining consistency between physical, digital and human-assisted interactions.

African market realities also feature in discussions on sentiment analysis, conversational AI, language, code-switching and customer behaviour.

The people behind customer experience

Technology is only one side of the CX equation.

CEM Africa 2026 will look closely at employee experience, organisational culture and the changing capabilities required of customer-facing teams.

Sessions will cover customer-centric culture, employee resilience, burnout, hybrid CX teams, human-centred service, AI upskilling, cross-functional collaboration and change management.

The programme will also explore the relationship between employee experience and customer outcomes, recognising that organisations cannot sustainably improve CX without equipping and engaging the people responsible for delivering it.

What the three days will look like

Tuesday, 18 August – Day Zero

CEM Africa begins with an afternoon dedicated to registration, community engagement and relationship-building ahead of the main conference programme.

Delegates can expect networking activities and activations, including tastings, community conversations, the CEM Networking Padel Tournament and sponsored welcome drinks.

The format is designed to give speakers, delegates, partners and industry leaders an opportunity to begin making connections before the formal summit gets underway.

Wednesday, 19 August – Day One

Day One opens with a strong focus on trust, relevance and measurable customer experience outcomes.

The main stage begins with Deshnie Govender’s opening keynote, “The Culture-Led Customer: The Emerging Markets Playbook for Building Trust, Relevance and Loyalty”, followed by sessions examining the future of AI-powered customer experience, journey-led CX orchestration and business journalist and best-selling author Bruce Whitfield’s keynote, “The Trust Advantage”, exploring how trust can reduce friction and unlock better business results.

From late morning, the programme moves into a series of parallel workshops and panels built around some of the most pressing issues facing CX leaders today.

The first sessions explore building trust in the AI era, with discussions on whether AI investments are delivering measurable business outcomes, the changing role of the CX leader, enterprise AI agents, frictionless customer journeys and lessons from CEM Africa Awards-winning teams.

The afternoon broadens the conversation into customer intelligence, Voice of Customer, Agentic AI, digital trust and human reassurance, alongside a dedicated discussion on how African contact centres and BPO operators are positioning themselves to compete globally.

Later sessions place the human experience firmly back at the centre of CX. Leaders will explore employee wellbeing, emotionally intelligent journey design, empathy in an AI-enabled environment, customer-centric culture and how to lead CX teams through continuous change.

The final workshop block tackles the commercial realities of CX, including moving from NPS to P&L, improving checkout conversion, connecting customer, employee and digital experience, driving loyalty through hyper-personalised research and the realities of stepping into senior CX leadership.

Day One closes with Matchmaking and Happy Hour, followed by the CEM Engage Party, creating further opportunities for delegates, speakers, partners and solution providers to continue conversations and build meaningful industry relationships.

Thursday, 20 August – Day Two

Day Two turns the focus towards human impact, business value and the future direction of customer experience in Africa.

The main stage opens with Zahirah Variawa’s motivational keynote, “The Moments People Remember: Why the Experiences We Create Matter More Than We Think”, followed by Rashid Toefy on designing better citizen experiences and building trust through public services.

A QuestionPro and Metropolitan fireside chat explores the use of AI within Voice of Customer programmes, while Katie Stabler and Debi Potgieter’s “What the Fluff?” challenges the industry to examine whether CX initiatives have genuine substance when put under pressure.

The morning also features the CEM 2026 Advisory Board Panel, bringing together leaders from across Africa to examine the future of CX through the lenses of trust, technology, business value and human connection, before Martin Urrutia, Head of Global Retail Experience at The LEGO Group, takes to the stage for the keynote “Experience Is the Brand.”

The afternoon workshop programme moves from strategy into execution.

Sessions will explore AI-powered WhatsApp journeys, voice AI in the South African market, the point at which brand promises break down, self-improving human and AI service models and how CX leaders can prove ROI in language that resonates in the boardroom.

The final workshop block looks further ahead. Delegates can explore CX designed for measurable ROI, the Future African Customer 2030, organisational trust, scalable experience design, the risks of poor AI, emerging CX research and Human First experience design.

The programme then closes with WiN CX Africa: Women Shaping Excellence in Every Experience, bringing together female leaders to explore how cultures of safety, trust and inclusion shape stronger customer and employee experiences.

Across both days, the programme reflects the central theme of CEM Africa 2026: Trust, Technology and the Human Future of CX in Africa, with a clear emphasis on moving beyond theory towards customer experience strategies that create stronger relationships, better operational outcomes and measurable business value.

More than a conference programme

Alongside the conference and workshops, attendees will have access to the CEM Africa exhibition, Expo Spotlight Stages, technology demonstrations, networking functions and opportunities to engage directly with CX solution providers and peers facing similar transformation challenges.

For senior leaders, the value lies not simply in hearing what is changing, but in comparing approaches with peers, interrogating technology choices, finding practical solutions and building relationships across Africa’s customer experience community.

CEM Africa’s broader 2026 positioning – “Excellence in Every Experience: Shaping the Future of Customer Engagement Across Africa” – reflects an industry that is increasingly being asked to connect customer experience directly to business growth, loyalty, trust and resilience.

With the event now days away, CEM Africa 2026 offers organisations a timely opportunity to understand where customer experience is heading next — and what leaders need to do now to stay relevant.

CEM Africa 2026 takes place from 18–20 August 2026 at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town, South Africa.

For the latest programme, speaker line-up and delegate availability, visit https://apo-opa.co/4zgt0bJ.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of VUKA Group.

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ACG CEO Paulo J. Cruz to Speak at the Angola Access & Investment Conference 2026 in Luanda on How Sport and Entertainment Districts Can Drive Inclusive Economic Growth Across Africa

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October 14, 2026

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ACG

Cruz joins heads of state, ministers, ambassadors, and CEOs from over 60 international markets at one of Angola’s flagship investment conferences, connecting sport infrastructure to job creation, accessibility, and sustainable development

LUANDA, Angola, October 14, 2026/APO Group/ –African Collaborations Group (ACG) (www.ACGafrica.com), the leading strategic project origination and collaboration platform focused on the industrialisation of sport in Africa through the origination of bankable sport and entertainment district ecosystems, today announced that its CEO, Paulo J. Cruz, will speak at the Angola Access & Investment Conference 2026 (AAIC) (www.aaic.ao) in Luanda, Angola, from 14 to 17 October 2026.

 




 
 

The AAIC is organised by Expo Connect Angola in partnership with Skyliam Properties, the Cópia Group, and Angolan Business Beyond Borders, with the support of the Angola-Mozambique Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIAM) and the Angolan Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technologies, and Social Communication. The conference brings together heads of state, ministers, ambassadors, CEOs, investors, development banks, and business leaders from over 60 international markets.

Mr Cruz will address how ACG’s origination of integrated sport and entertainment districts contributes directly to inclusive economic growth. His intervention will focus on how sport infrastructure, when designed as a financially self-sustaining urban ecosystem, becomes a catalyst for large-scale job creation, skills development, accessible infrastructure, and long-term economic diversification.

Sport infrastructure has the power to be one of the most inclusive economic assets a country can build

The AAIC’s focus on accessibility and inclusion aligns directly with ACG’s approach to sport and entertainment district development. A Victory District™ is designed from inception to serve the widest possible community: creating permanent employment across dozens of professions, providing professional sport training facilities for young athletes, and generating economic activity that benefits surrounding neighbourhoods year-round.

“Sport infrastructure has the power to be one of the most inclusive economic assets a country can build,” said Paulo J. Cruz, CEO of ACG. “A Victory District™ does not just create stadiums. It creates thousands of permanent jobs, from hospitality to broadcast production, from sport coaching to facility management. It creates training pathways for young athletes. And it creates an urban ecosystem that generates economic activity 365 days a year. That is inclusive growth in practice, not in theory. I am honoured to share that vision at the AAIC alongside some of Africa’s most influential investors and decision-makers.”

The AAIC programme includes official MoU signing ceremonies, B2B investment rounds, VIP executive networking with senior government and business leaders across 10 dedicated Business Lounges, and the inauguration of Angola’s first assistive technology factory. The conference covers priority sectors including energy, mining, accessible tourism, agriculture, logistics, health, and infrastructure.

ACG’s Victory District™ framework is designed to originate integrated, mixed-use sport and entertainment districts that move beyond single-venue development models. Each district combines stadiums, indoor arenas, training academies, hotels, conference centres, retail, entertainment, residential, and commercial space within a single masterplanned development, financed by private and institutional capital without reliance on public subsidy.

Mr Cruz brings more than 28 years of experience across Africa, the Middle East, and Europe in originating, structuring, and delivering large-scale infrastructure, urbanisation, and real estate development initiatives. Prior to ACG, he served as Senior Vice President at DAMAC Group, the largest private real estate developer in the Middle East, and as Group CEO of LandAfrique, a pan-African development platform focused on industrial parks, infrastructure, housing, and power projects across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Collaborations Group (ACG).

 

 




 

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Venezuelan Oil and Gas Opportunities Take Center Stage at African Energy Week (AEW) 2026

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October 14, 2026

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Venezuela

The country is promoting new hydrocarbons contracts, upstream and refining opportunities, and technical partnerships with Africa to attract investment and strengthen local energy sector capabilities

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 14, 2026/APO Group/ –Venezuela is seeking to attract international investment into its oil and gas sector while building stronger energy partnerships with African countries. Revised hydrocarbon legislation offers new entry routes for private operators, while cooperation on technical training could help African markets draw on Venezuela’s industry expertise. These opportunities featured at the Venezuela Global Investment Forum during African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 in Cape Town.

 




 
 

Ricardo Gomez, Venezuela’s Vice Minister of Commercial Policy, outlined the country’s investment proposition, highlighting 303 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and 193 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

“Venezuela combines a large hydrocarbon resource base with refining infrastructure and a market that needs reliable energy,” he said. “The opportunities extend from upstream projects to downstream and refining.”

The country’s amended Organic Hydrocarbons Law introduces new ways for international companies to enter the market. Hydrocarbon production participation contracts allow private operators to manage designated assets, oversee operations and market production under negotiated terms. Agreements can extend for 25 years, offering a longer investment horizon for field development and rehabilitation.

Restructured joint venture companies provide another route, retaining majority state ownership while allowing international partners to take on operational responsibilities through approved agreements. Direct ministerial contracts and strategic alliances offer additional opportunities in field redevelopment, oilfield services and infrastructure.

Venezuela is seeing a lot of interest as a result of aggressive fiscal and regulatory changes that are making the country more attractive

Potential investments span heavy-oil production in the Orinoco Belt, mature onshore fields, offshore gas, pipeline rehabilitation, export terminals and refinery upgrades. Venezuela’s target of signing 105 definitive oil contracts by year-end reflects its wider effort to attract operators and accelerate project development.

Scott Gilbert, CEO and Executive Director of Corcel Plc and Non-Executive Chairman of Apertura Energy, highlighted investor interest in the changing regulatory environment. “Venezuela is seeing a lot of interest as a result of aggressive fiscal and regulatory changes that are making the country more attractive,” he said.

Alongside these commercial opportunities, Venezuela is promoting its technical expertise through the Venezuelan University of Hydrocarbons (UVH). Celia Bejarano, the university’s President, explained how the institution trains engineers and geologists in geophysics, reservoir engineering, well management, natural gas and petrochemicals.

“The Venezuelan University of Hydrocarbons was created to deliver a specialized institution where the country can train its own recruits to develop its own premier resources,” Bejarano said.

Through its Africa-Venezuela Energy Partnership with the African Energy Chamber (AEC), UVH is advancing technical training, knowledge exchange and workforce development. The initiative could help African energy projects apply Venezuela’s experience in heavy-oil production and offshore engineering while strengthening local capabilities. Rene Awambeng, founder and managing partner of Premier Invest, highlighted this opportunity for African developers.

“When we are developing our assets here, we always import talent,” he said. “With the Venezuelan University of Hydrocarbons, we can actually leverage Venezuela’s immense experience to support local content development here in Africa.”

Also speaking during the discussion, NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC, emphasized the strategic value of closer ties between the regions. “Our energy industry has an amazing ally in Venezuela,” he said, describing the country as “open for business and ready to partner with Africa.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

 




 

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Sonangol Cites Commitment to Privatization as Company Charts Next Growth Phase

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12 hours ago

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October 14, 2026

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Katambi

Katambi-2 appraisal, infill drilling and downstream construction frame the national oil company’s priorities as it marks its 50th anniversary

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 14, 2026/APO Group/ –Angolan National Oil Company Sonangol is advancing plans for an initial public offering (IPO) while expanding its upstream portfolio and investing in Angola’s domestic refining capacity, as the national oil company charts its next phase of growth following its 50th anniversary in 2026. Speaking at the opening ceremony of African Energy Week (AEW) 2026, Executive Board Member Osvaldo Inácio reaffirmed the company’s commitment to privatization, alongside efforts to increase production, progress new developments and translate Angola’s oil and gas resources into broader economic growth.

 




 
 

 

“We want to make sure that we do it in a way that, when you buy your shares, you are happy with the performance of those shares. We are doing the internal work required to make sure that when we get to that point, it’s a successful story,” he said.

We want to make sure that we do it in a way that, when you buy your shares, you are happy with the performance of those shares

Sonangol’s 50th anniversary comes as Angola’s NOC develops opportunities across exploration, producing assets and domestic processing. Its next investment phase requires capital and technical partners to turn appraisal results into developments while delivering refinery infrastructure and expanding the value retained from Angola’s oil and gas production.

“We are thinking about what the next 50 years will be like, focusing on producing to transform. We are not only looking at managing resources but how we translate those resources into overall development in the country,” he said.

Sonangol’s September account of its Katambi-2 work in Block 24 described a completed formation test in a non-associated gas reservoir, providing further evidence for assessment of the field’s development potential. In its producing portfolio, the company and its partners also reported approximately 100 meters of net oil pay at PAC 416 in Block 3/05, as part of a program intended to increase operated production. The results give Sonangol a technical basis for future investment, while appraisal, development design and commercial arrangements remain necessary steps.

“If you look at our portfolio, we have both operated and non-operated assets. The focus is on making sure we are doing everything we can to make sure those assets are still producing at the highest rate possible. New developments such as Block 3/05 are advancing. We are also part of Kaminho with TotalEnergies,” Inácio shared.

Downstream, Angola’s government reported in September that the Lobito refinery was approximately 26% physically complete, with around $1.6 billion invested and completion envisaged for 2029. A potential petrochemical complex was under study. Alongside Cabinda’s initial 30,000-bpd refining phase, Lobito gives Sonangol’s diversification program a concrete industrial focus, with financing, construction progress and product marketing central to the next stage.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

 




 

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