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Intent HQ confirmed as Diamond Sponsor; Absa Bank as Platinum Sponsor & BEES joins as Gold Sponsor for Converge Africa 2026

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Converge Africa 2026

Converge Africa unites leaders across Retail and eCommerce, Digital Marketing, Payments and Fintech, Digital Security, and Fulfilment, Logistics and Last Mile for three days of strategy, technology and high value meeting introductions

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, February 2, 2026/APO Group/ –Africa’s digital commerce economy is growing fast, but not without friction. Fragmented retail, inconsistent data, complex payments, rising fraud risk and disconnected customer journeys continue to slow down scale for retailers, brands and marketplaces across the continent.

 

Converge Africa 2026 will place these challenges at the centre of its agenda, as the continent’s leading digital commerce, fintech and retail technology players gather from 4 to 6 May 2026 at the CTICC in Cape Town to define what frictionless, borderless and trusted digital trade should look like for Africa.

The event today confirms Intent HQ as Diamond Sponsor, Absa Bank as Platinum Sponsor, and BEES as Gold Sponsor, three organisations operating at different layers of the commerce stack, united by a common mission: enabling African businesses to trade smarter, faster and at scale.

Converge Africa unites leaders across Retail and eCommerce, Digital Marketing, Payments and Fintech, Digital Security, and Fulfilment, Logistics and Last Mile for three days of strategy, technology and high value meeting introductions.

 

The real challenge: turning African digital growth into profitable, scalable commerce

Across Africa, digital adoption is accelerating. Consumers are shopping online, mobile payments are mainstream, and informal retail is rapidly digitising. Yet many organisations are struggling to convert this growth into sustainable, profitable digital commerce.

Retailers battle with disconnected customer data and slow decision making.
Brands struggle to digitise fragmented trade networks.
Marketplaces face trust, fraud and cross border payment complexity.
Customers expect personalised, real time experiences without sacrificing privacy.

Converge Africa 2026 is designed to tackle these realities head on, bringing together the platforms, infrastructure and intelligence required to build the next generation of African digital commerce. Expect main stage keynotes, track led content, hands on workshops, an exhibition of market ready solutions, and structured networking to enable meaningful partnerships and tangible ROI.

It is within this context that Intent HQ, Absa Bank and BEES take centre stage.

 

“Scaling digital commerce in Africa requires more than a single solution, it requires intelligence, infrastructure and execution working together. Converge Africa brings that full commerce stack into one room. ” said Terry Southam, Group Director of Retail – Converge Africa.

 

Sponsor announcements and why they matter now

Intent HQ: powering real time, privacy first customer decisioning (Diamond Sponsor)

Intent HQ is the Human to AI Context Company that helps enterprises anticipate and activate real customer intent in real time, safely and at scale. Its flagship platform, IntentOne, sits between enterprise data estates and execution channels to orchestrate the moments that matter.

It detects intent signals, recommends next best actions, and activates decisions instantly across existing martech and experience stacks without replacing them. By combining always on data with on device Edge AI, Intent HQ delivers higher conversion, loyalty and lifetime value under strict privacy and security governance.

At Converge Africa, retailers and marketplaces will see live demos of IntentOne’s Customer Intent Engine, showing how to align engagement to true shopper readiness, improve decision velocity for promotions and service recovery, and prove measurable uplift with responsible AI. This speaks directly to the data fragmentation and personalisation challenges facing South African e commerce.

 

“We’re excited to return to Converge Africa to showcase our award-winning Agentic Customer AI. By understanding behavior and intent, we help brands deliver smarter, more inclusive digital services.”

Scaling digital commerce in Africa requires more than a single solution, it requires intelligence, infrastructure and execution working together

– Jonathan Woolf, Chief Revenue Officer, Intent HQ

 

Absa Bank: enabling trusted, scalable digital commerce (Platinum Sponsor)

Absa Bank is a leading pan African financial services group serving retail, business and corporate clients with acquiring, payments, embedded finance and risk solutions across the continent. Absa stands out by blending African insight, strong digital ambition, responsible banking, and human centred leadership to create real economic impact, not just financial results.

Absa’s presence underscores the centrality of secure, seamless payments to e commerce growth. Delegates can expect insights on cross border enablement, fraud and digital security, omnichannel merchant services, and the rails that support scalable digital trade, core to resolving payment complexity and trust deficits in South Africa’s online market.

 

BEES: digitising the retail value chain at scale (Gold Sponsor)

BEES is a global B2B digital commerce platform connecting FMCG brands with millions of independent retailers. Through a single app, retailers can order, pay, access promotions and insights, while suppliers unlock data driven route to market, trade activation and loyalty at scale.

BEES brings proven playbooks for digitising fragmented retail, which is critical in Africa’s mixed trade landscape. Delegates can expect practical sessions on retailer onboarding, in app merchandising, incentives, and how first party trade data can drive better demand planning, fulfilment and ROI for brands and distributors. This directly addresses the fragmentation and execution gaps holding back South African e commerce.

 

“BEES is a B2B digital commerce platform that elevates every interaction with our retailers from ordering to delivery. Powered by AI, it enables us to influence retailers more successfully, improve sales effectiveness, and deliver superior service, resulting in stronger performance.” – Representative BEES.

 

How Converge Africa 2026 addresses today’s pain points

Retail and eCommerce: Connecting channels and data to create seamless journeys and increase decision velocity at the point of need.
Digital Marketing: Operationalising real time intent to lift acquisition efficiency and lifetime value, while protecting privacy.
Payments and Fintech: Building trusted, scalable rails for omnichannel commerce, including cross border, risk and fraud controls.
Digital Security: Hardening the ecosystem against evolving threats with enterprise grade governance, identity and compliance.
Fulfilment, Logistics and Last Mile: Turning demand into on-time delivery through better planning, inventory visibility and execution.

 

About Converge

Africa Converge Africa is the continent’s leading platform for digital commerce leaders to connect, learn and grow. Held annually at the CTICC in Cape Town, the event convenes retailers and eCommerce brands, payments and fintech innovators, cybersecurity specialists, logistics and last-mile providers, and digital marketers to shape the future of Africa’s online economy.

Converge Africa 2026 4–6 May, CTICC, Cape Town

Frictionless digital commerce. Transacting seamlessly, without borders.

 

Registration & Sponsorship

 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of VUKA Group.

Energy

Gwede Mantashe Joins African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 as South Africa’s Petroleum Reforms Open the Orange Basin to Drilling

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African Energy Chamber

A new petroleum law and the prospect of fresh Orange Basin drilling is resetting South Africa’s upstream, and Minister Mantashe is taking the AEW host nation’s case to the global market

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, June 8, 2026/APO Group/ –Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources of the Republic of South Africa, has been confirmed as a featured speaker at the upcoming African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 Conference and Exhibition, where he is expected to lay out the reform agenda reshaping the country’s upstream oil and gas sector and its drive to convert long-stranded offshore gas into production.

 

South Africa is pursuing one of the most significant upstream overhauls in its history, anchored by a new law that gives oil and gas their own regulatory regime for the first time. The reforms position the host nation as both a destination for exploration capital and a future producer along an Atlantic margin that has drawn the world’s largest oil companies to the region.

At the center of the shift is the Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Act (UPRDA), which President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law in October 2024. The Act separates petroleum from the mining statute that has long regulated both sectors. It also creates a single petroleum right covering exploration and production along with a 20% carried interest for the state. The UPRDA awaits a presidential proclamation to take effect, and implementing regulations that went through a further round of industry comment in early 2026 are now being finalized.

A clear petroleum framework and a credible state partner are what international capital needs to commit to the Orange Basin

Mantashe has emerged as the most forceful advocate for accelerating the sector. He has long-argued that South Africa must shift from importing refined products to producing its own, warning that dependence on foreign supply leaves the economy exposed to global price shocks. This shift becomes increasingly more importance in the current global climate, where supply security has become a major challenge – particularly for import-reliance economies such as South Africa. As such, Mantashe has repeatedly pressed for faster licensing and fewer legal delays to exploration. AEW 2026 is a key platform to bring this discussion to a global audience.

“South Africa has the geology for exploration. Now it is building the regulatory certainty it needs to turn discoveries into bankable projects,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber. “A clear petroleum framework and a credible state partner are what international capital needs to commit to the Orange Basin.”

Offshore, TotalEnergies – operator of Block 3B/4B in the Orange Basin – is preparing to begin drilling in South African waters in 2026 pending final regulatory approvals. The acreage sits on trend with the Venus discovery in neighboring Namibia, where TotalEnergies is developing the basin’s first oil project.

Onshore, momentum is building in Mpumalanga, where gas developer Kinetiko Energy’s Amersfoort project has logged sustained high-flow results and is advancing plans for an LNG pilot plant. Mantashe has also signaled that government is moving to lift the long-standing moratorium on shale gas development, with the Petroleum Agency of South Africa (PASA) estimating recoverable Karoo reserves at 209 tcf.

Mantashe is also expected to report on successes of the South African National Petroleum Company (SANPC), the state entity formed in May 2025 through the merger of PetroSA, iGas and the Strategic Fuel Fund. Positioned as the country’s petroleum champion, SANPC is intended to anchor state participation across the value chain as South Africa works toward 6 GW of gas-fired power by 2030.

As AEW 2026 prepares to convene policymakers, investors and operators at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from October 12-16, Mantashe’s address carries added weight as the host nation’s signal to the market. His message is expected to be direct: South Africa is open for upstream investment and ready to move from potential to production.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

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Business

Digital transformation journey takes centre stage at ANGOTIC 2026

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ANGOTIC 2026

In Luanda, ANGOTIC 2026 is expected to attract more than 20,000 participants and visitors, including prominent international political figures, global ICT industry leaders, national and international exhibiting companies

LUANDA, Angola, June 5, 2026/APO Group/ –The sixth edition of ANGOTIC – International Information and Communication Technologies Forum (www.ANGOTIC.ao) – will take place in Luanda at the Talatona Convention Centre on 11, 12 and 13 June 2026 (Thursday, Friday and Saturday).

Under the theme “On the Road to Digital Transformation”, a slogan that was neither randomly chosen nor defined by chance, the event seeks to highlight the achievements attained by the Angolan Government in recent years. These achievements are based on the strengthening, improvement and expansion of ICT infrastructure, including ANGOSAT-2 and the National Space Programme, the National Broadband Network Project, the expansion and reinforcement of fibre-optic networks, particularly the 2Africa submarine cable, the implementation of the INAMET modernisation programme, Digital Terrestrial Television, and more recently, the commissioning of the Government Data Centre and Cloud Platform.

These and other initiatives have facilitated and expanded access to telecommunications and information technology services for citizens, while encouraging operators to continuously develop solutions tailored to the needs of businesses and individuals.

ANGOTIC presents itself as an international platform for fostering and strengthening relationships, bringing together exhibitions of products and services based on the innovative capacity of operators, presentations and debates on current ICT-related topics and challenges. It also serves as a privileged venue for training and capacity-building initiatives, the launch of new products and services, the strengthening of relationships among operators through the signing of agreements and business meetings, as well as the promotion of Angolan culture.

At ANGOTIC, and in response to the needs identified by both the organisers and the market, participants will find, in addition to the activities already mentioned above, the Startup Zone and the Kids Zone, both of which will offer a vibrant daily programme of activities and experiences.

The Startup Zone, designed under an inclusive and integrated 360-degree concept, comprises the Entrepreneurship Support Centre, Investment Centre, Artificial Intelligence for Business Training Room, Digital Payments Hub, and a Hackathon focused on Artificial Intelligence and Space Technology.

At the Entrepreneurship Support Centre, companies and participants will be able to explore and experience all the stages involved in establishing a business, from the business idea itself to financing, feasibility studies, company registration through the One-Stop Business Registration Office (Guiché Único da Empresa), logo and branding development, INAPEM certification, and trademark and patent registration through IAPI.

Also within the Startup Zone, at the 360° Stage, all startups and companies participating in the event will have the opportunity to obtain INAPEM certification through the Entrepreneurship Support Centre, enabling them to benefit from advantages such as tax exemptions and eligibility to participate in public tenders.

At the Investment Centre, investment solutions for businesses, micro-enterprises and entrepreneurs will be available, as well as access to microcredit opportunities.

The Digital Payments Hub will facilitate partnerships with Pay4All for the integration of payment solutions through references, Multicaixa, Multicaixa Express and e-Kwanza into a single platform within 24 hours. The area will also feature the INAPEM business incubator (TWENDY).

The Kids Zone, a family-oriented space aimed at children, teenagers, young people, students, teachers, partners, companies and institutional visitors, among others, will feature the following key activities during this edition of ANGOTIC:

  • Kids Tech Academy – electronics and programming for children;
  • ITEL Creator Studio – podcasting, vector photography and digital content creation;
  • Robotics Arena – robotics workshops, assembly and demonstrations;
  • Future Careers Zone – immersive experiences focused on the professions of the future;
  • Immersive Tech Lab – virtual and augmented reality experiences;
  • STEM Simulation Lab – simulated science and technology experiments;
  • E-Sports Learning Zone – educationally guided digital gaming activities;
  • Electric Mobility Track – electric vehicles developed by students;
  • ITEL Brand Store – institutional products and merchandise;
  • Student Innovation Gallery – exhibition of 12 technological projects developed by ITEL students.

In Luanda, ANGOTIC 2026 is expected to attract more than 20,000 participants and visitors, including prominent international political figures, global ICT industry leaders, national and international exhibiting companies, startups from various provinces of Angola, approximately 100 national and international speakers, national and international media organisations—some of which will travel specifically to the Angolan capital for the event—as well as academics, researchers and technology enthusiasts.

According to the programme for this edition, the following have already been confirmed as of the date of this press release: 11 national and international companies as official sponsors of ANGOTIC, more than 300 startups—having already reached the maximum capacity allocated to them—approximately 200 exhibiting and non-exhibiting companies, and nearly 5,000 tickets already sold.

Regarding ticket sales, it is worth highlighting that, as in the 2025 edition, tickets are also available through the ANGOTIC website. The “Family Ticket” category allows up to three children accompanied by a guardian to access the ANGOTIC experience with a single ticket.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of ANGOTIC.

 

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Energy

Libya Energy & Economic Summit (LEES) 2027 to Define Libya’s Next Phase of Energy Expansion in Tripoli

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Etu Energias

Returning for its fifth edition, LEES 2027 will advance Libya’s $18 billion energy pipeline, targeting 1.6–2 million bpd, gas megaprojects and renewables

TRIPOLI, Libya, June 4, 2026/APO Group/ –The fifth edition of the Libya Energy & Economic Summit (LEES) 2027 returns to Tripoli on January 23–25. Positioned as Libya’s landmark energy event, LEES serves as the country’s premier international platform for investment, technical collaboration and private sector engagement across oil, gas, power and renewables.

 

LEES 2027 builds directly on the outcomes of LEES 2026, which marked Libya’s shift from post-recovery stabilization to execution-led development. The 2026 edition established an estimated $18 billion pipeline of energy and infrastructure projects and repositioned the sector from ambition to delivery, setting the foundation for the 2027 summit’s execution-focused agenda.

 

A central focus for 2027 is upstream acceleration. The National Oil Corporation’s (NOC) 2026 licensing round introduced 22 on- and offshore exploration blocks, the country’s first in 17 years, alongside a mandate to drill 70 to 100 new wells annually. With support from the Ministry of Oil & Gas, LEES 2027 will evaluate initial seismic results, contract awards and the transition from exploration rights into operational development phases.

Production expansion remains a core investment theme. Libya’s output stabilized at approximately 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2026, with LEES 2027 targeting pathways toward 1.6 million bpd in the near term and a long-term ambition of 2 million bpd. The summit – endorsed directly by the NOC – will focus on infrastructure bottlenecks, field optimization and midstream capacity required to support higher output levels.

 

Gas monetization and large-scale infrastructure development will also feature prominently. Eni’s $8 billion offshore Structures A&E project remains on track for completion by late 2027, while discussions around Chevron-linked shale studies highlight potential resources estimated at 123 trillion cubic feet of gas and 18 billion barrels of oil across key basins, including Sirte, Murzuq and Ghadames.

Moving from licensing and planning into large-scale execution and infrastructure delivery, LEES 2027 is a focal point for this critical transformation in Libya’s energy sector

 

The sector aims to attract an estimated $3–4 billion in annual drilling investment following unified drilling regulations announced in 2026. LEES 2027 will assess early implementation outcomes, including operational safety, fiscal predictability and contract execution efficiency across upstream assets.

 

Meanwhile, Libya’s 4 GW solar roadmap is advancing, anchored by TotalEnergies’ 500 MW Sadada solar project. Supported by the Renewable Energy Authority of Libya as an institutional partner, LEES 2027 is expected to focus on financial close milestones, construction timelines and the scaling of independent power purchase structures within the national grid strategy.

 

Human capital development will also remain a strategic pillar at next year’s event, with the Energy JEEL initiative having trained more than 900 youth participants aged 15–35 in engineering, digital systems and energy operations, forming a national talent pipeline aligned with Libya’s long-term energy transition and industrial expansion goals.

Against this backdrop, LEES 2027 – which takes place at the Tripoli International Convention Center – will serve as the sector’s execution benchmark, converting licensing frameworks, infrastructure commitments and production targets into operational outcomes across hydrocarbons, power generation and next-generation energy systems.

 

“Moving from licensing and planning into large-scale execution and infrastructure delivery, LEES 2027 is a focal point for this critical transformation in Libya’s energy sector,” says James Chester, CEO of LEES 2027 organizer Energy Capital & Power. “It will be a defining platform where investment commitments from 2026 are translated into measurable production, capacity expansion and long-term energy security outcomes.”

 

Join industry leaders at the Libya Energy & Economic Summit 2027 in Tripoli and explore investment opportunities in one of Africa’s most dynamic energy markets. LEES 2027 offers a premier platform for partnerships, innovation and sector growth. Visit www.LibyaSummit.com to secure your participation. To sponsor or participate as a delegate, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

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