As African economies ramp up investments in energy, mining, manufacturing and infrastructure, key industry leaders are set to converge in Accra, Ghana to confront a critical question: is the continent doing enough to protect the workers driving its industrial transformation?
The conversation will headline the 8th Africa Safety Congress and Awards (AfriSAFE 2026), scheduled for November 5–6 at the Labadi Beach Hotel, Accra.
The high-level gathering will bring together senior business executives, policymakers, academics and occupational safety experts from 45 African countries to examine the human cost of industrial growth and chart a safer future for workplaces across the continent.
Leading the conversations are Engr. Effiong Udofia Okon, Chief Executive Officer of Seplat Energy Plc, and Engr. Prof. Amevi Acakpovi, Vice-Chancellor of Accra Technical University and President of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) National Committee of Ghana.
Okon, who leads one of Nigeria’s major indigenous energy companies, will deliver a distinguished keynote address exploring the nexus between industrial leadership, responsible operations and the protection of human lives — an issue with far-reaching consequences for workers, communities, the environment and national economies where failure is not an option.
Prof. Acakpovi will speak on the theme, “From Commitment to Action: Building Safe, Sustainable Systems Across Africa,” focusing on the role of technical education, engineering standards, institutional leadership and innovation in building resilient African industries.
Also billed to speak is Dr. Isa Emmanuel Omagu, the Chief Strategy and Development Officer and Divisional Head of Strategy, Policy, and Research at Nigeria’s Bank of Industry (BOI), who will bring a development finance perspective to the debate, alongside discussions on artificial intelligence, emerging workplace risks and the economics of prevention.
His session will interrogate how access to industrial financing can be tied to companies’ commitment to worker protection and sustainability, and how SMEs can afford the technologies and systems required to improve safety.
“For millions of workers, these issues determine whether employees return home safely, families avoid losing breadwinners to preventable accidents and businesses grow without exposing workers and communities to unacceptable risks,” the organisers said.
The industry faculty also includes Kayode Adeleke, Group Chief Executive Officer of Arridex; the Business Improvement Director of Zambia Sugar; Atunde Olayinka, Chief Executive Officer of Yikodeen; and Sumervant Singh, Vice President, Technical Operations at Olam Agri; and Antonia Berry, Chief Executive Officer of a safety consultancy and solutions provider, who will share practical insights from manufacturing, agribusiness, engineering, safety consultancy and industrial operations.
Organised under the theme “Safeguarding Lives. Securing the Future,” AfriSAFE 2026 will feature two days of policy dialogue, technical sessions and professional engagement, addressing electrical safety, environmental governance, AI, climate resilience and prevention of fatalities in high-risk operations.
Speaking ahead of the congress, Femi Da-Silva, Chief Executive Officer of AfriSAFE, emphasised the need to place human lives at the centre of Africa’s development agenda.
“Africa is investing billions in industrial growth, infrastructure and technology, but we must ask an equally important question: are we investing enough in protecting the people who make that growth possible? No worker should lose their life simply because they went to work. Industrial progress must never come at the expense of human lives,” he said.
The congress is being organised in collaboration with Ghanaian professional and industry stakeholders, including the Ghana Institution of Safety and Environmental Professionals (GhISEP) and the Ghana Electrical Contractors Association (GECA).
The event will climax with the AfriSAFE Awards, honouring individuals, organisations and institutions driving improved safety standards, responsible business practices and sustainable development across Africa.
AfriSAFE 2026 is supported by Zambia Sugar, Seplat Energy, Tropical Cable, Golden Africa Djibouti and Godef West Africa Limited, among others.
For organisers, the Accra meeting reinforces a central message: Africa’s economic progress must be measured not only by investments, infrastructure and production figures, but also by the lives protected along the way.
More information is available at: https://www.afrisafe.org.
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