The 13th CEO Dialogue on Southern Africa convenes in Johannesburg on 12 and 13 November, and the question on the table is blunt: can the private sector actually build, finance and deliver the infrastructure Africa needs? The European House – Ambrosetti (TEHA), a leading private Italian think tank ranked among the top four in Europe and the top twenty globally, has gathered around 200 chief executives, government ministers, central bank governors, investors and economists for two days centred on execution rather than aspiration, from financing infrastructure to building it, facilitating regional trade and harvesting windfalls from a booming commodities market.
Delivery runs through the agenda as its organising thread. The summit meets amid geopolitical volatility, energy supply shocks, trade disputes and technology-driven disruption, with rising energy costs following the outbreak of war in the Middle East early this year adding operational pressure across the region. Against that backdrop, organisers have framed the gathering around how South Africa and the wider region can mobilise domestic capital to finance development and strengthen private sector investment in employment, infrastructure and production.
A municipal dimension follows. A week after South Africans vote in local government elections on 4 November, TEHA is working to have Johannesburg’s new mayor attend as part of a dedicated focus on the city. As the country’s financial and commercial capital and a key economic hub in Africa, Johannesburg’s economic performance is pivotal to national growth prospects and the wider continent’s fortunes. A dedicated session will examine how urban renewal, infrastructure investment and cooperation between the public and private sectors can strengthen the city’s standing as an investment destination.
“Johannesburg’s established infrastructure, large pool of workers and world-class companies play an important role in attracting investment to South Africa and the wider region,” said Pietro Mininni, CEO of TEHA Africa.
Meanwhile, the operational machinery behind the summit has itself been secured. TEHA hosts the initiative in collaboration with Gauteng Province through the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) as a cornerstone public sector partner. On 10 November, TEHA and the GGDA will sign an agreement renewing a decade-long partnership and committing to host the CEO Dialogue in Johannesburg for a further three years after this year’s event.
Sthembiso Dlamini, Group CEO of the GGDA, pointed to tangible results already flowing from the partnership, citing the Chamdor Automotive Hub and the AIDC Trade Test Centre as projects showing how collaboration can drive skills development, industrial growth and inclusive transformation. “Our long-standing partnership with Italy continues to yield tangible results,” she said, adding that deepening bilateral partnerships positions Gauteng as the gateway to Africa’s next wave of innovation and sustainable industrialisation. Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Agriculture and Rural Development, Vuyiswa Ramokgopa, described the Dialogue as an important platform to strengthen government and private-sector collaboration, attract investment and accelerate growth.
This year’s edition builds directly on work delivered last year, when the Dialogue took place on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Meeting in Johannesburg and leaders from across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Italy signed a CEO Manifesto committing to Africa’s economic development. That Manifesto covered 10 strategic priorities, including energy, mining, regional trade integration, SME financing and digital transformation. Further background on the 13th edition is available at https://novuspressbulletin.co.za/blog/ceo-dialogue-2026-focuses-on-the-need-for-private-sector-champions-to-catalyse-economic-growth-across-africa.
By contrast with the diplomatic framing, the speaker list leans operational. Confirmed implementers and operators include Enoch Godongwana, Minister of Finance; John Mushayavanhu, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe; Russel Baatjies, CEO of Transnet Freight Rail; Kahenge S. Haulofu, Managing Director of NamPower; Sandile Dube, Managing Director South Africa of Equinix; and Martin Vaujour, President Africa, Middle East and Central Asia at Alstom, alongside former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta and other figures from business, government and finance.
Operator perspectives on delivery were on clear display in statements from supporting partners. Alstom Group Chief Executive Officer Martin Sion said economic growth, industrial development and regional integration all depend on the ability to move people and goods efficiently and sustainably, describing the opportunity to modernise transport infrastructure across Southern Africa as significant. Old Mutual Group CEO Jurie Strydom argued Africa’s next phase of growth requires mobilising domestic capital more effectively and directing long-term investment towards productive opportunities. Wojciech Kulma, CEO of BASF South Africa, said the company’s 60 years in the country point to continued commitment, but stressed that realising potential requires a predictable, competitive and enabling business environment.
Nhlanhla Nene, Chairman of TEHA Africa and South Africa’s former Minister of Finance, framed the challenge plainly: recent economic, political, technological, demographic and climate changes are creating new perspectives and challenges for Africa and Europe alike, and the Dialogue exists to facilitate cooperation across both continents. Whether that cooperation translates into delivered projects, financed infrastructure and jobs will be the measure by which this edition is judged.