As the old energy order is deeply shaken by geopolitical chokepoints, supply insecurity, and price volatility, a new race is underway across Africa. This session explores what it actually takes to turn disruption into advantage — building not just megawatts, but energy security, industrial capacity, and competitive edge through renewables, storage, mini-grids, and smarter grids. Namibia is banning raw mineral exports to force local lithium and rare-earth beneficiation and building Africa's most advanced green hydrogen industry, anchored by the $10bn Hyphen project, to convert world-class sun and wind into industrial-scale value. We look at how continental policy is stitching markets and grids together, how climate and development finance are de-risking bankable energy platforms, and how a new generation of African operators is scaling clean power across borders — and ask what it will take to move the whole continent from energy vulnerability to energy sovereignty at scale.

Scene setter: H.E. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, President of Namibia

Panelists:

• H.E. Lerato Dorothy Mataboge, Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitisation, African Union
• Hon. Bogolo Kenewendo, Minister of Minerals and Energy, Botswana
• Ms. Tariye Gbadegesin, CEO, Climate Investment Funds (CIF)
• Ms. Solange Maria Pinto Ribeiro, Vice President, Neoenergia; Vice Chair, UN Global Compact Board
• Mr. Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO, Masdar

Moderator: Ms. Veronica Bolton Smith, CEO, The Critical Minerals Africa Group