In brief
On Nov. 9, African financial experts launched the Africa Financial Intelligence Summit 2026 in Kampala, aiming to curb illicit financial flows accelerated by digital technology. Delegates from 36 nations will pursue advanced analytics, AI, blockchain forensics, and coordinated enforcement. Uganda’s finance minister Henry Musasizi pledged real‑time collaboration and called the summit critical to safeguarding Africa’s financial future.
On Monday, African financial experts gathered in Kampala for the five‑day Africa Financial Intelligence Summit 2026, a conference designed to counter the rising tide of illicit financial flows fueled by digital technologies and complex financial systems.
Delegates from 36 countries—including representatives of financial intelligence units, law‑enforcement agencies, regulatory bodies, forensic investigators and international partners—convened under the theme Securing Africa’s Financial Future: Intelligence, Innovation and Integrated Enforcement in an Era of Borderless Financial Crime. The summit will focus on real‑time cooperation, cyber resilience and advanced analytics to trace, freeze, seize and recover illicit proceeds.
Uganda’s Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Henry Musasizi said Africa was at a defining moment as financial crime increased in scale, speed and sophistication alongside the rapid expansion of digital finance, fintech, virtual assets and cross‑border transactions. He urged African states to strengthen real‑time cooperation among financial‑intelligence units and to enhance technological and cyber resilience, including the use of artificial intelligence, blockchain analytics and cyber‑digital forensics.
“Let this Summit strengthen our institutions, sharpen our intelligence, deepen our cooperation and ensure that Africa’s financial systems increasingly work for Africa’s development,” Musasizi said.
Let this Summit strengthen our institutions, sharpen our intelligence, deepen our cooperation and ensure that Africa’s financial systems increasingly work for Africa’s development.
The conference is ongoing, with participants exploring practical steps to improve the ability of African countries to detect, investigate and dismantle cross‑border financial crime networks.