New Cities Summit set for Nairobi to propel urban development across Africa
What you need to know:
- The summit has confirmed more than 50 speakers to date, representing a diverse range of expertise from the private sector, development finance institutions, and government agencies.
Dar es Salaam. Urban development stakeholders from across the continent will gather in Nairobi, Kenya this June for the New Cities Summit—an initiative aimed at accelerating the creation of new cities, Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Industrial Development Zones (IDZs), and transformative urban infrastructure across Africa.
The two-day summit, which commences on June 12, 2025, will feature the “Cities Catapult” pitch competition, an engaging segment of the event designed to showcase pioneering urban development projects.
Organisers describe the competition as exciting, entertaining and impactful, and say it will help connect project developers with leading financiers, government policymakers, and technical experts for strategic support and potential investment partnerships.
In a joint statement issued from Washington D.C. and Nairobi on Thursday, April 24, 2025, the Charter Cities Institute (CCI), in partnership with the Africa Infrastructure Development Association (AfIDA), emphasised that while demand for well-planned, economically vibrant, and scalable cities is rising, many promising initiatives often struggle to transition from vision to implementation.
“The Catapult is designed to help bridge this gap. It is structured as a mentorship initiative culminating in a high-stakes pitch competition at the New Cities Summit, with the winning project receiving exclusive mentorship and capital raising opportunities,” said the Summit organizer and Head of Communications for CCI, Michael Holstein.
The event targets a specific range of initiatives, including new city developments and mixed-use SEZs or IDZs with populations of under 300,000; core urban projects such as affordable housing, transport, and climate resilience initiatives; as well as investment funds focused on large-scale urban development, covering at least 500 hectares with projected populations of 50,000 or more.
At last year’s New Cities Summit, which took place in Kigali, Rwanda, several high-profile projects were pitched, including Kigali Innovation City in Rwanda, Enyimba Economic City in Nigeria, Fumba Town in Zanzibar, Maluku Preserve City in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Itana in Nigeria, Small Farm Cities in Malawi, and Gabriel King City in Zambia.
The 2025 edition of the New Cities Summit is being hosted in partnership with the Smart Cities Council, the Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest), and the Kenya Development Corporation. More than 400 global leaders are expected to attend, including policymakers, investors, city developers, entrepreneurs, and infrastructure experts, all working towards sustainable urban growth on the continent.
Besides the Cities Catapult pitch session, the summit will feature a robust line-up of key sessions and thematic discussions. Among the major themes are: planning for rapid urban expansion and how to manage the growth of the world’s fastest-growing cities; strategies for risk management and mitigation in large-scale city projects, including navigating policy and political uncertainty; and building a reliable critical minerals supply chain in Africa to support industrialisation and local development.
Other notable topics include the role of tech and education clusters as catalysts for economic growth, rethinking the model and utility of SEZs in a changing global economy, and drawing lessons from successful urban initiatives across the Middle East and North Africa.
The summit has confirmed more than 50 speakers to date, representing a diverse range of expertise from the private sector, development finance institutions, and government agencies.
Notable names on the roster include Patrick Lamson-Hall, Founder and CEO of Fitted Projects; Linda Kavuka from Students for Liberty Africa; Willie Vos, CEO of Waterfall City; Preston Mendenhall, Group COO and Kenya Head at Rendeavour; Leslie Ohomele, Associate Director of International Projects at King’s Foundation; Adrian Blomfield, Correspondent for The Economist; Michael Strong, Founder of the Socratic Experience; Leonard Wantchekon, Founder of the Africa School of Economics; Vivek Mittal, CEO of the Africa Infrastructure Development Association; Kurtis Lockhart, Director of the Africa Urban Lab; Mark Lutter, Executive Director of the Charter Cities Institute; and Siaka Stephens, representing Sherbro Island for Idris Elba.
Corey Gray from the Smart Cities Council is also scheduled to speak, and the organisers note that additional speakers and panels will be announced in the coming weeks.
