Loan Market Association and International Capital Market Association Africa Summit Gains Full Support from South Africa’s Leading Banks, IFC and Wider Institutions
04 September 2025The Loan Market Association (LMA) and the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) are delighted to announce growing momentum for their inaugural Africa Summit, taking place in Cape Town on 25–26 February 2026.
The landmark event has already secured the backing of South Africa’s four leading banks—Absa, Nedbank, RMB, and Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking—as platinum sponsors, with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) joining as a strategic partner. In addition, a number of other local African, regional and international institutions, including DFIs, law firms, service providers and members of the insurance market have already confirmed their support and sponsorship. Together, this support underscores the Summit’s role in bringing Africa’s debt markets together, as well as creating a collaborative, inclusive, industry-led platform to advance Africa’s loan and bond markets.
The Summit aims to bring together more than 1,000 senior stakeholders from across Africa and internationally—including issuers, investors, regulators, DFIs, and banks—for two days of strategic dialogue, networking and technical exchange. The programme will focus on:
- Capital market development and regional integration across both the loan and bond markets
- Sustainable finance and climate transition
- Regulatory innovation and financial inclusion
- Blended finance, FinTech, and digitalisation
- Market infrastructure and trading platforms
To promote broad participation, both ICMA and LMA members, as well as official sector representatives, will receive a number of complimentary passes. In addition, sponsors will benefit from a generous allocation of passes for their staff and clients. Delegate pricing has been set at an accessible level for non-members to ensure inclusive access for a wide range of market participants from across the region and will include complimentary 2026 LMA membership for those purchasing two or more passes.
Bryan Pascoe, Chief Executive of ICMA, said: “This summit marks an important milestone in our work to support African capital market development. By combining our networks, expertise and deep regional relationships, ICMA and the LMA are uniquely positioned to deliver an impactful, market-led event. We are proud to collaborate with the LMA to amplify African voices and connect them with the global financial community.”
Scott McMunn, Chief Executive of the LMA, commented: “Africa is a vital and dynamic region for both the loan and bond markets. This summit will illustrate both their unique features and interconnectedness, as well as provide an inclusive platform for knowledge-sharing, relationship-building, and thought leadership across the continent. Combining our unrivalled expertise across both the loan and bond markets for the first time, we look forward to working with ICMA and our members to ensure the programme reflects both the opportunities and complexities inherent to African debt.”
The summit builds on years of local engagement by both organisations, including ICMA’s support for repo market-building in over ten Sub-Saharan jurisdictions, and the LMA’s production of legal documentation tailored for the African loan market, extensive regional event programme and growing African membership.
Registration for the summit will open on 15 September 2025. Further details, including the agenda and speaker line-up, will be shared in due course.
Authorities and financial institutions across Africa who are interested in a speaking role in the programme are invited to contact Amelia Slocombe, LMA, and Allan Malvar, ICMA.
Contact details for further information:
Leyla Ghaffar Zadeh
Leyla.ghaffar-zadeh@lma.eu.com
Loan Market Association (LMA)
The LMA is the authoritative voice of the loan market in EMEA. Since our inception, we have been dedicated to supporting the loan markets, with a focus on enhancing liquidity, efficiency, transparency, and sustainability.
Today, with 850 members across 69 jurisdictions, we represent an expanding and diverse range of participants in international loan markets, including institutional investors, private and public sector issuers, banks, non-banks, technology platforms, and market infrastructure providers across the UK, US, EMEA, and Africa.
Through active representation on various institutional committees and working groups, we ensure our members' voices are heard and their interests are effectively advocated.
We work in six main areas: documentation, market practice and guidance, loan operations, sustainability, education, and regulatory advocacy and lobbying.
www.lma.eu.com
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International Capital Market Association (ICMA)
ICMA promotes well-functioning cross-border capital markets, which are essential to fund sustainable economic growth. It is a not-for-profit membership association with offices in Zurich, London, Paris, Brussels, and Hong Kong, serving over 630 members in 71 jurisdictions globally. Its members include private and public sector issuers, banks and securities dealers, asset and fund managers, insurance companies, law firms, capital market infrastructure providers and central banks.
ICMA provides industry-driven standards and recommendations, prioritising three core fixed income market areas: primary, secondary and repo and collateral, with cross-cutting themes of sustainable finance and FinTech and digitalisation. ICMA works with regulatory and governmental authorities, helping to ensure that financial regulation supports stable and efficient capital markets.
www.icmagroup.org
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