AFRAA-AfDB Nairobi workshop targets aviation finance solutions

KENYA – The AFRAA-AfDB Airlines Awareness Workshop on Capital & Connectivity has been scheduled for February 25-26, 2026, in Nairobi to tackle Africa’s aviation financing gaps and infrastructure needs.

Workshop Purpose and Context

The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) and African Development Bank (AfDB) have organized the Airlines Awareness Workshop on Capital & Connectivity, set for February 25-26, 2026, in Nairobi, Kenya.

This in-person gathering functions as a key dissemination platform under AfDB’s Integrated Aviation Transformation Program (IATP), targeting modernization of airlines and aviation infrastructure through viable financing channels.

Unlike broad forums, the event prioritizes actionable strategies addressing airline pain points like fleet renewal, capital scarcity, and sustainability mandates in a high-cost environment.

Target Audience and Benefits

Airlines receive invitations to send one or two senior delegates—ideally CEOs, CFOs, COOs, or heads of strategy, finance, fleet planning, who shape financing and operational decisions.

Participants gain direct access to capital markets, influence IATP’s rollout, nominate pilot projects tailored to African needs, and foster ecosystem partnerships advancing the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

These interactions promise bankable pathways amid challenges where African carriers hold just 20% market share despite the continent’s population heft.

Core Agenda Themes

Sessions unite airline leaders, lessors, manufacturers, financiers, export agencies, airport managers, and regulators around pivotal topics.

Discussions span airline profitability models, fleet optimization for bankability, leasing innovations suited to regional economics, cargo logistics for trade corridors, infrastructure upgrades in airports, airspace, maintenance-repair-overhaul (MRO), and workforce skills.

Dedicated tracks tackle sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) adoption, climate compliance, and converting IATP frameworks into real transactions, equipping carriers to navigate US$2-3 billion annual financing gaps.

Logistics and Participation

Registration occurs via a dedicated online form, with forthcoming details on Nairobi hotel blocks, airport shuttles, and local transport.

Nominations close February 10, 2026, ensuring ample preparation. The agenda, shared separately, features subject-matter experts delivering insights grounded in current realities, from lessor risk appetites to green financing incentives.

Strategic Industry Impact

This workshop arrives at a pivotal juncture, as African aviation grapples with post-pandemic recovery, fuel volatility, and SAATM’s uneven rollout across 36 states.

By bridging financiers and operators, it accelerates IATP’s promise of scalable capital for fleet upgrades, vital when 80% of aircraft exceed 10 years old, and infrastructure like Ethiopia’s US$4 billion airport expansions or Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta upgrades.

Outcomes could unlock billions, boosting intra-African connectivity from 15% of flights to SAATM targets, spurring GDP growth, and positioning airlines as economic engines in a $100 billion addressable market.

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