Conference programme

The Trump administration’s aggressive use of tariffs under national security and unfair trade justifications disrupted global trade flows, redrew supply chains and exposed legal vulnerabilities in overdependent economies. Though Africa wasn’t directly targeted, the ripple effects – trade diversion, higher input costs and weakened multilateralism – have been significant. As African nations reassess their tariff regimes amid global pressure and local industrial goals, this session explores the evolving legal frameworks and strategic implications.

Panel discussion topics include:

• Legal basis of Trump-era tariffs: US Trade Act sections 232 and 301
• WTO disputes and the erosion of multilateral norms: impacts on Africa
• Tariff realignments disrupting African trade and investment contracts
• Balancing industrial policy with free trade commitments
• Legal strategies for protecting African industries under AfCFTA and WTO rules
• Implications for trade negotiations, dispute resolution and investor-state arbitration
• What African lawyers must anticipate in a geopolitically-driven trade landscape

This session focuses on the legal mechanisms for unlocking the potential of AfCFTA:

• Contract harmonisation and standardised trade terms
• Resolving non-tariff barriers through legal tools
• Trade finance, digitalisation and the role of fintech platforms (eg, PAPSS)
• Case studies on rules of origin, intellectual property and regional dispute resolution
• In-house counsel insights on cross-border implementation hurdles

Understand how sustainability considerations are reshaping finance:

• Geopolitical shifts: implications of US aid pullbacks and COP29 targets
• The rise of blended finance, public-private partnerships and green bonds
• Environmental, social and governance metrics in credit risk evaluation and capital raising
• Legal structures enabling climate-smart investment in Africa

This session provides a foundational overview of environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles and their growing impact on legal practice across Africa. Topics include:

• The future of ESG in a polarised political landscape
• Practical implications for legal advisory work across sectors
• How ESG intersects with core legal duties and risk management responsibilities
• The growing expectations on law firms and in-house teams to embed ESG in both advice and operations

A deep dive into litigation shaping environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk profiles:

• Climate and environmental class actions
• Greenwashing, just transition litigation and biodiversity-based claims
• Investor-state disputes and the ESG dimension
• Lessons from landmark African and global cases
• Defensive strategies for corporates and investors

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping how legal work is delivered – both in-house and in private practice. For general counsel (GC), AI opportunities to streamline contract review, predict litigation outcomes and automate compliance. For lawyers, its reffing  service delivery models, reshaping client expectations and introducing novel liability frameworks.

This session brings together GCs, private practice lawyers, legal technologists and ethics officers to unpack how AI is already transforming legal work – and where its heading next. The panel will examine real-world use cases, legal and professional risks (including accountability and malpractice), and the ethical boundaries lawyers must navigate in deploying AI tools. Delegates will leave with practical insights into how to work with – and within – AI powered legal systems, while safeguarding legal standards and client trust.

As the US and other traditional anti-corruption heavyweights retreat from aggressive global enforcement, the compliance landscape is changing fast. But is this the end of anti-corruption as we know it or the beginning of an African-led integrity agenda? This session explores the state of whistleblower protections, enforcement capacity and legal safeguards across African jurisdictions. Can regional legal frameworks step up where global ones are pulling back? What will it take to design and sustain credible, locally driven anti-corruption systems?

Lawyer-led discussion on the actual legal complexities of doing business across African regions — East, West, Southern and francophone Africa. Built as a dynamic, regional roundtable with structured segments, this session will dig into the granular legal issues that make-or-break deals on the continent.

Core topics of discussion:

• Regulatory volatility: how do frequent legislative changes (eg, FX controls, tax law shifts, local content rules) impact deal certainty?
• Licensing and permitting: the hidden timelines, informal barriers and creative workarounds lawyers must manage
• Enforcement and remedies: contract enforcement challenges, judicial bottlenecks and viable alternatives (eg, arbitration, administrative remedies)
• Sector spotlights: legal quirks in key sectors such as energy, tech, infrastructure and agriculture – what's changing, what’s stalling
• Regional fragmentation vs harmonisation: how lawyers are navigating divergent compliance expectations despite AfCFTA
• Navigating government and political exposure: how lawyers mitigate corruption risks and political instability without breaching ethical or legal lines

Format:

• Each panellist represents a region and brings one to two real legal ‘deal breakers’ or ‘creative wins’ they’ve navigated.
• Each segment ends with one to two practical investment takeaways for businesses/investors attending.
• Final 20 minutes is open floor: attendees (including investors, corporates) ask legal-in-practice questions.

This interactive workshop invites participants to co-design legal approaches to:

• Develop credible voluntary carbon market frameworks
• Apply Article 6 of the Paris Agreement
• Address concerns around market fairness, integrity and greenwashing
• Recommend regulatory improvements suited to African needs

This session explores what effective corporate governance looks like in 2025:

• Core principles and governance codes across Africa eg, King v in RSA as the benchmark of Corporate Governance practices in Africa?
• In-house counsel perspective on building governance frameworks
• Integration of AML, ABC and compliance with ESG goals
• Addressing emerging risks: cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, diversity and inclusion,  and data privacy