•Expands to include Agriculture and Food Security, Health Summit Summits

By ESTHER OSEYIOMON

Aquarian Consult Ltd has announced that the second edition of the Afro-Caribbean Investment Summit (ACIS) will seek to unlock structured trade and institutional investment flows across a combined $40 trillion market spanning Africa, the Caribbean, and North, Central and South America.

The summit, scheduled to be held in Abuja from March 23 to March 28, 2026, is expected to convene over 2,000 participants, including current and former heads of government, sovereign wealth funds, multilateral institutions and leading private sector players, in what organisers describe as a decisive shift from diplomatic engagement to transaction-driven partnerships.

Briefing journalists in Abuja, the Chief of Staff of Aquarian Consult Ltd, Serumun Ubwa, said the initiative was conceived to provide African businesses with direct access to international markets by facilitating dialogue that translates into bankable deals and cross-border joint ventures. She explained that the 2026 edition builds on the momentum of the inaugural 2025 summit, which focused on Saint Kitts and Nevis and produced several measurable outcomes.

According to Ubwa, the first edition led to the historic direct flight from Africa to Saint Kitts and Nevis, bilateral engagements between ministries and government agencies, the signing of memoranda of understanding in agriculture and cultural exchange, and the securing of a $40 million deep-water port agreement. She described those outcomes as evidence that structured engagement between Africa and the Caribbean can deliver tangible economic returns.

Trade between Africa and the Caribbean currently accounts for less than one per cent of total trade between the two regions, a gap ACIS seeks to narrow significantly by strengthening South–South cooperation and building a formal transatlantic economic corridor.

Reflecting lessons from the 2025 summit, the 2026 edition has been expanded to include two additional high-level engagements — the Afri-Caribbean Agriculture and Food Security Summit, scheduled for March 23–24, and the Afri-Caribbean Health Summit, slated for March 26 — alongside the main Investment Summit, which will be held from March 25–28.

Ubwa noted that agriculture and healthcare were prioritised following bilateral discussions between stakeholders after the inaugural summit. She observed that the Caribbean imports a significant portion of its food supply, creating opportunities for African producers to access new export markets. At the same time, markets, while collaboration in healthcare and pharmaceutical innovation presents prospects for joint investment and knowledge exchange.

The summit will feature structured Business-to-Business and Business-to-Government matchmaking sessions designed to fast-track cross-border transactions. A key highlight will be the expanded Investor Deal Room, where vetted infrastructure and technology projects will be presented to private equity firms, pension fund managers and other institutional investors. Participation in the Deal Room, organisers said, will be curated and metrics-driven, with post-summit monitoring mechanisms to track capital commitments and project milestones.

Engagements are expected to span priority sectors including agriculture, food security, healthcare, renewable energy, aviation and logistics, tourism, digital technology and the creative economy. Organisers said the aviation corridor initiative aims to reduce transit dependency, improve cargo movement and unlock tourism and diaspora-driven trade between both regions.

Responding to questions on local impact, Ubwa emphasised that the platform is designed to benefit small and medium-sized enterprises as well as large corporations. She said Nigerian businesses would gain access to investors and new markets across the Caribbean and the Americas. At the same time, young professionals and entrepreneurs would benefit from exposure, networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities.

She acknowledged that large-scale trade shifts require time but noted that partnerships initiated during the 2025 summit remain active, with negotiations and implementation processes ongoing. “The goal is to move beyond conversations into transactions,” she said, adding that enabling policy support from governments would be critical to sustaining private sector growth.

Aquarian Consult said ACIS 2026 represents a strategic statement that Africa and the Caribbean are prepared to deepen economic ties through structured trade, institutional capital and enduring partnerships. From Abuja in March 2026, organisers maintain that the next chapter in Africa–Caribbean relations will not merely be discussed but operationalised.

PHOTO, L-R: Communications Coordinator, Aquarian Consult, Fatima Idris; Chief of Staff, Aquarian Consult, Serumun Ubwa; Media Consultant and Convener of Geopolitics Series, Senator Iroegbu; Head of Corporate Services, Aquarian Consult, Rotkangmwa Gowon; Project Development Manager, Aquarian Consult, Chivegunum Okparaolu, during a press briefing on the 2026 Aquarian Consult Afri-Caribbean Investment Summit in Abuja.