Nigerian President Bola Tinubu touched down in Kigali on Wednesday ahead of the 13th Africa CEO Forum, which opens on Thursday. He was welcomed at the presidential wing of Kigali International Airport by Rwanda’s foreign minister, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, and defence minister Juvenal Marizamunda. Other officials who received the president included industry, trade and investment minister Dr Jumoke Oduwole, National Intelligence Agency director‑general Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed, Nigeria’s chargé d’affaires in Rwanda Ambassador Ibrahim Zanna and the president’s media adviser Sunday Dare.
The Africa CEO Forum, launched in 2012 by Jeune Afrique Media and co‑hosted by the International Finance Corporation, has grown into the continent’s largest annual gathering of private‑sector leaders, investors and policymakers. This year’s theme – “The Scale Imperative: Why Africa Must Embrace Shared Ownership” – underscores a push for regional integration, larger‑scale projects and cross‑border investment to deepen Africa’s private‑sector‑driven development agenda.
At the opening session Tinubu is slated to deliver a speech titled “Holding the Line: Nigeria’s Reform Bet in a Fractured World,” in which he will highlight progress made under Nigeria’s ongoing economic reform programme and outline the country’s strategy for sustaining those gains amid global uncertainties. The president is also expected to hold a series of high‑level bilateral meetings with senior African and international business executives, reinforcing Nigeria’s role in shaping the continent’s economic future.
Tinubu’s participation signals Nigeria’s continued commitment to African unity, deeper regional economic cooperation and strategic partnerships that prioritize private‑sector‑led, sustainable development. The forum provides a platform for the president to articulate how Nigeria, as Africa’s largest economy, intends to contribute to a more integrated and prosperous continent.
The Africa CEO Forum runs through Thursday and Friday, bringing together dozens of CEOs, financiers and government officials to discuss investment opportunities, policy reforms and collaborative models that could accelerate Africa’s growth trajectory. Outcomes from the summit are expected to feed into ongoing dialogues on trade, infrastructure and digital transformation across the region.
