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Global advertising spend to top $1trn for first time this year

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WARC forecast

Projected 10.5% rise in global spend this year represents a 2.3 percentage point (pp) upgrade to WARC forecast, reflecting the uptake of AI-enabled media tools

North America to grow 8.6% this year to $348bn, APAC market worth $272bn but growth cools to just 2.0%, Europe forecast to rise 5.0% to $165bn, Latin America +6.2% to $32.1bn, Middle East largely unaffected by looming threat of regional conflict +4.2% to $12.6bn

US political spend set to reach $15.8bn this year; $3.6bn spent across social platforms with growth rapidly increasing since change of Democratic candidate

WARC Global Ad Spend Outlook 2024/25 – A Decade of Consolidation

22 August 2024 – A new study from WARC, the experts in marketing effectiveness, has found that global advertising spend is on course to grow 10.5% this year to a total of $1.07trn – the best performance in six years if the post-Covid recovery of 2021 (+27.9% year-on-year) is disregarded.

Ad spend growth is also anticipated next year (+7.2%) and in 2026 (+7.0%), culminating in a global ad market worth $1.23trn. Global ad investment has more than doubled over the last decade, and has grown 2.8x faster than global economic output since 2014. Just three companies – Meta, Amazon and Alphabet – account for more than 70% of this incremental spend. This trifecta is expected to attract 43.6% of all advertising spend this year, rising to a share over 46% by 2026.

WARC’s latest global projections are based on data aggregated from 100 markets. New for this edition, WARC is now leveraging an advanced neural network machine learning model which projects advertising investment patterns based on over two million data points spanning macroeconomic data, media owner revenue, marketing expenses from the world’s largest advertisers, media consumption trends and media cost inflation. It is believed to be one of the most comprehensive advertising market models available to the industry today.

The new projections show that ‘pureplay’ (i.e. online only) internet companies are set to record a 14.0% rise in advertising revenue this year, reaching a total of $735.7bn. In total, almost nine in every ten (88.5%) incremental dollars spent on advertising this year will go to online-only businesses, with half (52.9%) being paid to Alphabet, Amazon and Meta. Taken together, pureplay platforms are set to account for over 70% of all advertising spend worldwide next year.

Retail media (+21.3%), social media (+14.2%) and search (+12.1%) are set to lead digital growth in 2024, with these three sectors alone accounting for over 85% of online spend and almost three in every five (58.7%) incremental dollars spent on advertising worldwide this year. All are benefiting from the increased adoption of AI-driven ad services and growing appreciation of first party data.

James McDonald, Director of Data, Intelligence and Forecasting, WARC, and author of the research says: “The global ad market has doubled in size over the last decade, with advertising investment growing almost three times faster than economic output since 2014. Three companies – Alphabet, Amazon and Meta – have been the largest beneficiaries from this period of expansion, attracting seven in ten incremental ad dollars over the last ten years.

“With retail media expected to lead ad spend growth over the coming years, and with new, diverse players emerging in ad selling – from Uber to Chase – we are once again seeing the value of first party data in targeting the right person with the right message at the right time. Such data, combined with new AI enhancements, will constitute the fabric of the advertising industry for the next decade and beyond.”

Key findings outlined in WARC’s Global Ad Spend Outlook 2024/25 are:

MEDIA TRENDS: Global ad spend is forecast to rise 10.5% this year to a total of $1.07trn, and then 7.2% in 2025 and 7.0% in 2026; social, retail media and CTV to lead growth

At $241.8bn in 2024, social media is the largest single advertising channel measured in WARC’s study, having overtaken search (excl. retail media) for the first time last year. It accounts for 22.6% of all global ad spend this year and is forecast to rise to a share of 23.6% by the end of 2026.

Within social, Meta is the largest individual player, commanding 62.6% of the market this year. Its share is being eroded however, most notably by Douyin and TikTok owner Bytedance, which now draws a fifth (20.1%) of all social spend, up from a share of just 9.3% five years ago. TikTok is on course to account for over half of its parent-company’s advertising revenue for the first time next year with estimated ad billings over $28bn, though uncertainty remains around the platform’s future in the US – its largest market by far with 170m monthly active users.

The main social platforms have reported a fillip from new, AI-enabled services during the first half of 2024, a trend that is set to underpin the advertising industry at large over the coming years. Over half of all AI-enabled spend – defined as involving some form of recommendation algorithm, natural language processing or search optimisation – ​today occurs in the social media sector.

Search advertising (excluding retail media) accounts for 21.8% of global advertising spend, at a forecast total of $223.8bn this year. Its share has consistently grown since WARC began monitoring the sector in 2013, though it is set to plateau in 2026 as more purchase journeys begin in retail media environments and social commerce begins to realise its potential outside of Asia. Another potential headwind may be the rise of AI-driven search, and uncertainty around what the ad experience will look like for consumers more familiar with text-based search experiences.

Google accounts for more than four-fifths (84.0%) of the global search market, with its paid search revenue set to top $200bn for the first time next year. Google’s share rises to over 90% if China is excluded, a position of dominance which this month led a US judge to rule the company in breach of antitrust laws.

Retail media is expected to account for 14.3% of global ad spend this year – a total of $152.6bn – which is double the share recorded in 2019 before the pandemic contributed to an exceptional growth spurt. Indeed, retail media is expected to be the fastest-growing channel over at least the next three years.

Amazon is the dominant global player, with anticipated ad revenue (excluding Twitch and Prime Video) of $55.9bn equivalent to more than a third (36.6%) of all retail media spend and over two-thirds excluding China this year. While competition is heating up, such billings eclipse the near $4bn Walmart is due to net in 2024 and the $1bn ad business Uber is building, while Amazon is also due to have surpassed Alibaba by ad revenue for the first time this year.

CTV is on course to be worth $35.3bn to advertisers this year, roughly a quarter of the size of the linear TV market. Growth is rapid; CTV spend is expected to rise 19.6% and is set to account for two-thirds of all growth in the video (linear + CTV) market this year, and all growth in 2025. By 2026, CTV is projected to account for almost a quarter (23.9%) of all video ad spend, at $46.3bn.

Netflix is the largest streaming provider globally, with 277.6m subscribers worldwide in Q2 2024. However, its global advertising business is unlikely to grow too far beyond $1bn this year. YouTube’s ad income – which we do not yet classify as CTV – is expected to rise 14.3% to $36.0bn this year. Further, YouTube’s ad revenue is set to top $45bn globally by 2026, almost as much as the entirety of the global CTV industry at that time.

Legacy media, encompassing print publishing, broadcast radio, linear TV, cinema and out of home (OOH), now collectively account for a quarter (25.3%) of total advertising spend, having recorded a dip in share in each of the last 15 years.

Advertising spend on legacy media is expected to total $270.5bn this year, representing a 1.5% rise from 2023. Much of this growth can be attributed to US political spending; with this removed legacy media are, collectively, set to record a 0.5% decline in advertiser investment in 2024.

Linear TV spend is expected to grow by 1.9% this year, its best performance since 2014 if the post-Covid recovery year of 2021 (+12.7%) were excluded. The market is flat (+0.1%), however, excluding US political spend. Out of home (+7.2%) and cinema (+6.1%) will see some growth this year, though radio (-2.3%) is expected to record its third consecutive year of decline. Newsbrands (-3.3%) and magazine brands (-3.4%) are also due to see losses across print and online editions.

PRODUCT SECTOR TRENDS: Technology & Electronics (+13.2%), Alcoholic Drinks (+12.2%) and Clothing & Accessories (+11.1%) the fastest-growing consumer sectors next year. US political spend is expected to reach $15.8bn this year; over a fifth spent on social.

Advertising spend during the 2024 US presidential election is on course to top $15bn for the first time, with an expected total of $15.8bn up by over 40% on the previous cycle in 2020. Spend had been lagging the 2020 total earlier this year, but the surprise decision to change the Democratic candidate has led to an influx in spending in order to reposition the new ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. This shift is perhaps most pronounced online: political spending on social media is tracking 27.4% higher in Q3 2024 versus Q2 2024, with social spending by both main parties on course to reach $3.6bn this year.

Retail – the largest of the 19 categories monitored by WARC – is anticipated to record a 2.5% dip in global spend this year. Our definition of this sector is broad however, ranging from quick service retail (QSR) to grocery to department stores to online retailers, such as Temu. The latter is expected to continue investing heavily in advertising, particularly in Europe this year, but it is an exception – the longer tail of retailers are facing business pressures from soft consumer demand.

Technology & Electronics – the third-largest product sector monitored by WARC – is expected to post the fastest growth this year, with incremental spend of $17.0bn worldwide. The sector had recorded declines in advertising spend in both 2022 and 2023, as central banks raised interest rates sharply in an attempt to stymie inflation, exposing over-leveraged tech startups in particular.

Technology & Electronics (+13.2%), Alcoholic Drinks (+12.2%) and Clothing & Accessories (+11.1%) are forecast to lead ad spend growth among consumer-facing products in 2025, though Business & Industrial, the second-largest category, is expected to be the fastest-growing category overall next year (+18.2%), as budgets unlock during a period of comparatively favourable economic and trading conditions.

The Nicotine category is also growing rapidly, albeit from a low base; it is the smallest of the 19 product categories monitored by WARC at $13.0bn in 2024. Spend is set to grow 56% over the three years to 2026 – reaching a total of $17.2bn – driven almost entirely by vape products which skew heavily towards online advertising.

REGIONAL TRENDS: North America to grow 8.6% this year to $348bn, APAC growth cools to just 2.0% owing to stronger dollar, Europe is forecast to rise 5.0% to $164.9bn, while Middle East ad markets are largely unaffected by looming threat of regional conflict

North America is on track to be the fastest-growing region this year – inflated by the US presidential elections – with ad spend rising 8.6% to a total of $347.5bn. US ad spend is expected to grow 8.9% this year (+4.0% excluding political spend, more than double the 1.4% growth rate recorded in 2023) to a total of $330.8bn. A further rise, of 3.6%, is forecast next year, by when the US ad market should be worth over $342bn. The Canadian ad market is due to grow 7.5% to CAD23.3bn ($16.8bn) this year.

Latin America (+6.2% to $32.1bn in 2024) then follows, with its largest market, Brazil, forecast to record local currency growth of 9.6% this year to a total of BRL85.7bn ($14.8bn) – an acceleration from the 7.5% rise recorded last year. Our forecasts suggest that online advertising will account for over half (50.4%) of the Brazilian ad market for the first time this year.

APAC’s (+2.0% to $272.0bn this year) largest market – China – is projected to see ad market growth of 6.4% this year to RMB1.32trn ($181.2bn), an easing from the 9.3% rise recorded in 2023 as consumer demand remains soft and economic expansion lags stubbornly behind the target. Pureplay internet will account for over 86% of the Chinese ad market in 2024, though social media (+10.5%) and retail media (+8.2%) will expand at a slower rate this year than last.

When measured in local currency – so as to exclude the distorting effect of exchange rate fluctuations – we see that India will be the fastest growing key market this year, with advertiser spend rising 11.9% to INR1.08trn ($12.8bn).

Japan – the fourth-largest ad market in the world – is forecast to grow by 5.2% this year to JPY5.83trn ($36.9bn), though this equates to a 6.3% decline when measured in US dollars due to the Yen falling to a decade-long low. Australia’s ad market is expanding by 2.0%, a modest but welcome change of fortunes following flat (+0.3%) growth in 2023, while Indonesia is expected to achieve 7.8% growth this year.

Advertising spend across Europe is forecast to rise 5.0% this year to $164.9bn. The UK, the largest European market by spend, is expected to post an 8.0% rise to £38.5bn ($47.5bn) in 2024 per market data from the AA/WARC Expenditure Report. On the European mainland, France (+8.0%), Italy (+5.4%) and Germany (+4.0%) are all expected to see healthy gains this year, with the former in particular benefiting from increased advertising activity around the Paris Olympics and Paralympics in the third quarter.

Brand spend in the Middle East and Africa is currently on course to rise by 4.2% to $12.6bn this year, though fortunes are mixed. African spend is expected to be flat (+0.2%), following a 15.7% decline in 2023 and 1.4% dip in 2022. South Africa, the region’s largest market, is expected to see its ad market grow 6.0% this year but this translates to a 1.1% increase when measured in dollars owing to a weak Rand by historical measures. Ad spend in the Middle East is set to rise 8.1% this year but that is subject to change should conflict spread beyond Gaza to the wider region.

A complimentary article by WARC’s James McDonald, author of the report, is available to read here. WARC subscribers can read the article and access additional data here.

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

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August 14, 2026

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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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KoçSistem Leads Türkiye’s Information Technology (IT) System Integrator for the Eighth Consecutive Year as KoçDigital Wins Top Artificial Intelligence (AI) Award

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August 14, 2026

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KoçSistem

KoçSistem ranked first in ICT 500’s main system integrator category for an eighth consecutive year, while KoçSistem and KoçDigital recorded 10 category wins as KoçSistem expands its MENA operations through Dubai and Riyadh

ISTANBUL, Türkiye, August 9, 2026/APO Group/ –KoçSistem (www.KocSistem.com.tr), a Türkiye-based technology company, ranked first in the main Information Technology Systems Integrator and Business Partner category of the 27th ICT 500, the country’s most comprehensive ICT (information and communication technology) sector research.

 

The company announced that the eighth consecutive category lead, as well as 10 combined category wins for KoçSistem and KoçDigital, support its MENA growth through offices in Dubai and Riyadh.

“Securing this leadership for an eighth consecutive year in ICT 500 is a strong reference for our leadership position in Türkiye,” said Mehmet Ali Akarca, General Manager of KoçSistem. “It also supports our objective of growing in international markets. We are pleased to take the technology expertise and operational capabilities we developed over many years in Türkiye to the MENA region.”

Ten category wins across two companies

KoçSistem’s eight first-place results covered the main system integrator category and areas including consulting, cloud, hosting management, cybersecurity, managed services and data backup and storage hardware.

With over 80 years of experience, we aim to create long-term value for the region’s digital ecosystem

KoçDigital added two first-place results in data warehousing and business intelligence software, and artificial intelligence under the “Contribution to Türkiye’s Economy” category.

ICT 500 ranks Türkiye’s largest ICT companies

ICT 500 is BThaber’s annual ranking of Türkiye’s 500 largest ICT companies by revenue, with additional tables covering operating categories. The latest edition assessed 2025 data and marked the study’s 27th year.

The research reported that the combined 2025 revenue of the 500 ranked companies reached TRY 1.6 trillion, up 40 per cent from 2024.

MENA growth through Dubai and Riyadh

KoçSistem opened offices in Dubai and Riyadh in 2024 and continues to develop its MENA business in AI, cloud, cybersecurity, data analytics and managed services.

The offices extend a regional initiative outlined at GITEX Dubai 2024, when KoçSistem described Dubai as a base for developing customer and partner relationships across the Gulf and wider MENA markets.

“With over 80 years of experience, we aim to create long-term value for the region’s digital ecosystem,” Akarca concluded.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of KoçSistem.

 

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Venezuela Global Investment Forum to Showcase Major Investment Opportunities at African Energy Week (AEW) 2026

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August 14, 2026

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African Energy Chamber

The forum will strengthen investment ties between Venezuela and Africa while advancing South-South energy cooperation

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, August 7, 2026/APO Group/ –The Venezuela Global Investment Forum will take place during African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 in Cape Town from October 12 -16, bringing together senior Venezuelan government officials, national oil company leadership, international energy executives, financiers and commodity traders to showcase one of the world’s most significant energy market reopening while creating a direct pathway for global investment into Venezuela’s rapidly evolving hydrocarbons sector.

 

Organized as a flagship feature of AEW 2026, the Venezuela Global Investment Forum underscores the growing momentum behind the country’s energy sector reforms and its renewed engagement with international investors. More than a traditional conference session, the Forum will connect investors directly with bankable upstream, natural gas, infrastructure and power opportunities by showcasing Venezuelan projects alongside some of Africa’s largest energy developments in the AEW Deal Room.

Following sweeping reforms to the country’s Organic Hydrocarbons Law earlier this year, Venezuela has introduced one of its most comprehensive investment overhauls in decades. The reforms expand opportunities for private operators, establish new production participation contracts, introduce more competitive fiscal terms and strengthen international arbitration mechanisms aimed at reducing investment risk and restoring confidence among international capital providers.

Venezuela is opening a new chapter for its energy industry

“Venezuela is opening a new chapter for its energy industry. The reforms underway are creating a more competitive and attractive investment environment and the Venezuela Global Investment Forum at AEW 2026 provides the ideal platform for international investors to engage directly with decision-makers and explore the opportunities emerging across the country’s oil, gas, infrastructure and power sectors,” says NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber.

These reforms are already reshaping the investment landscape. The government is targeting crude production of 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of 2026 after output recovered to approximately 1.2 million bpd during the first half of the year. Beyond oil production, Venezuela is advancing a broader strategy centered on natural gas monetization, offshore development, infrastructure rehabilitation and power sector modernization, creating opportunities across the entire energy value chain.

Throughout the Forum, delegates will hear directly from ministers, senior government officials, national oil company executives, international operators, development finance institutions, commodity traders and technical leaders responsible for implementing Venezuela’s new investment framework. Discussions will focus on expanding upstream investment, accelerating natural gas development, modernizing infrastructure and creating long-term partnerships that support Venezuela’s renewed role in global energy markets.

The forum also reinforces the strategic relationship between AEW 2026 and Venezuela Energy Week, which will take place in Caracas from February 22-25, 2027. Together, the two events form a coordinated international investment campaign that begins by introducing global investors to Venezuela’s reformed investment environment in Cape Town before continuing in Caracas, where commercial negotiations, technical engagement and project execution will move toward final investment decisions.

As global energy markets continue to prioritize supply security, infrastructure investment and new sources of production growth, Venezuela is positioning itself to re-establish its role as a major international energy supplier. Through the Venezuela Global Investment Forum at AEW 2026, investors will gain an unparalleled opportunity to engage with the country’s new investment framework, evaluate commercially attractive projects and build partnerships that support Venezuela’s return to global energy markets while strengthening cooperation between Africa and Latin America.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

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