BACE 2027 will focus on a simple but urgent proposition: Africa’s blue economy must move beyond potential, policy and conversation—and into investment, ownership, implementation and scale.
The announcement follows the inaugural Blue Africa Conference & Exhibition, held in Lagos in August 2026. The first edition convened a curated group of 100 VIP delegates and senior decision-makers from 18 countries, including government representatives, maritime administrations, port authorities, financiers, technology providers and development partners.
In strategic partnership with the Maritime Organization of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), BACE 2026 established a serious regional platform for the business of the ocean.
The inaugural conference began to identify practical pathways toward that objective. Participants examined a potential three-vessel door-to-door cargo service for West and Central Africa, explored the prospect of ferry connectivity between Lagos and Monrovia, and highlighted investment opportunities in Sierra Leone across ports, logistics, digitalisation, fisheries, skills and sustainable ocean industries.
BACE 2027 is designed to answer that demand.
“SEA TO SCALE”
“Sea to Scale” captures the journey from an idea, enterprise, project or policy intervention to the scale necessary to create jobs, move goods, attract capital, build infrastructure, strengthen food security and retain greater value within Africa.
As the Honourable Minister of Transport and Aviation of the Republic of Sierra Leone Ambassador Alhaji Fanday Turay observed: “Africa does not lack blue potential. What we need are investment-ready projects capable of converting that potential into prosperity.”
That principle will be at the heart of BACE 2027.
BACE 2027 will open its platform to the wider African business community and to international partners seeking meaningful participation in Africa’s blue economy.
Investors, banks and development finance institutions will find projects and investment opportunities, ports, shipping lines and logistics companies will engage around connectivity, while innovators will demonstrate solutions capable of transforming maritime operations, logistics, fisheries and environmental management.
Entrepreneurs and emerging businesses will meet customers, and investors, while governments and development institutions will showcase opportunities and investment conditions necessary for sustainable growth.
WHY LAGOS. WHY NOW.
As one of Africa’s largest commercial centres and a major maritime gateway, Lagos sits at the intersection of capital, enterprise, trade, technology, culture and maritime ambition.
The Gulf of Guinea is central to this proposition. Its ports, coastal cities, production centres and hinterlands have the potential to become far more than separate points on a map.
Properly connected, they can form an integrated Atlantic trade corridor linking African producers to African consumers and connecting West and Central Africa to global markets.
Recent disruptions affecting major global maritime chokepoints have provided another reminder of the vulnerability of concentrated trade routes—and of the strategic value of diversification.
BLUE IS BUSINESS
Africa possesses an extraordinary coastal asset base.
But natural potential does not automatically become economic value.
That transformation requires capital, infrastructure, technology, skills and sound governance.
The question is therefore no longer: Does the opportunity exist? It does.
The questions are:
Who will build it?
Who will finance it?
Who will own it?
Who will connect it?
And how quickly can it scale?
BACE 2027 is being convened to help answer those questions.
AFRICA’S NEXT BLUE CHAPTER
From 12–14 August 2027, Lagos will become a meeting point for Africa’s blue economy ambitions—where capital meets opportunity, policy meets enterprise, technology meets markets and regional ambition meets practical implementation.
The story has begun. Africa comes together to scale it.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Blue Africa Conference & Exhibition (BACE).
FOR PARTICIPATION, EXHIBITION, PARTNERSHIP AND MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Kachinga Phiri
Project Manager
Blue Africa Conference & Exhibition
kachinga@blueeconomy.africa
+260 750 586 138 | +27 78 300 1755
www.BlueEconomy.Africa
ABOUT THE BLUE AFRICA CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION:
The Blue Africa Conference & Exhibition (BACE) is a business and leadership platform dedicated to advancing Africa’s blue economy through investment, enterprise, technology, infrastructure, skills, trade, regional connectivity and responsible ocean stewardship.
Organised by Bahari Network, in collaboration with Afro Chamber and Emerge Media, the platform brings together the businesses, governments, investors, development institutions, innovators and maritime leaders required to move Africa’s blue opportunity from potential to implementation—and from sea to scale.
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