By BONIFACE AKARAH

Six political leaders, including five serving heads of state and government and the President of the ECOWAS Commission, have been announced as speakers at the inaugural West Africa Integration and Investment Summit (WAIIS 2026), scheduled to hold in Sierra Leone from November 16 to 18.

The organisers, In a press release issued in Freetown on October 20, said the summit would take place at the Julius Maada Bio International Conference Centre (JMBICC) in Lungi, Port Loko District, with registration now open to prospective delegates.

The political leaders announced include Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio, who is convening the summit under an ECOWAS Authority mandate; Kenya’s President William Ruto; Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama; and Togo’s President of the Council of Ministers, Faure Gnassingbé.

Others are Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and President of the ECOWAS Commission, General Birame Diop.

The summit will also feature 18 business, finance and industry leaders drawn from major African companies, investment institutions and development finance organisations.

They include Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FA Oil Limited, Folorunso Alakija; President of the OPEC Fund for International Development, Abdulhamid Alkhalifa; Executive Chairman of LeoneOil/Sierra Rutile Holding, Mohamed Babatunde Cole; and Dangote Group President and Chief Executive, Aliko Dangote.

Other speakers are Founding Chairman of Petrolin Group, Samuel Dossou-Aworet; Africa50 Chief Executive Officer, Alain Ebobissé; President and Chairman of the Board of Afreximbank, George Elombi; and Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu.

The list also features Transcorp Energy CEO Chris Ezeafulukwe; Mission 300 Accelerator CEO Andrew Herscowitz; Heirs Technologies CEO Obong Idiong; Smart Africa Director-General and CEO Lacina Koné; and Sustainable Energy for All CEO and UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative Damilola Ogunbiyi.

Also expected are Africa Trading Minerals Chairman Benedict Okey Oramah; BUA Group Founder and Executive Chairman Abdul Samad Rabiu; Teyliom Group Chairman and CEO Habib Yérim Sow; Oando Group Chief Executive Wale Tinubu; and Africa Finance Corporation President and CEO Samaila Zubairu.

According to the organisers, the summit is designed to bring political leaders, investors, buyers and project sponsors together to advance investment opportunities and move regional commitments towards actual transactions and implementation.

Its discussions and investment activities will focus on four pillars: energy abundance and green industrialisation; strategic minerals and natural resource development; agribusiness and food systems transformation; and digital transformation and connectivity.

The organisers expect about 1,000 high-level participants in Lungi and Freetown, including heads of state and government, chief executives of African and international companies, investors and development finance institutions.

While registration for the summit sessions is open, participation in its Deal Room will be subject to an application and invitation process.

The organisers said additional speakers would be announced in the coming days, adding that the speaker line-up remains subject to change.

WAIIS is being produced by Richard Attias & Associates, a global convening and production company. Its secretariat is expected to track commitments emerging from the Deal Rooms and support the advancement of projects through 2030.

Interested participants can register through the summit’s official website, www.waiis.org