Zimbabwe, Zambia emerge as final two contenders to host 2027 Youth Connect Africa Summit

Zambia and Zimbabwe have successfully advanced to the final stage of the competitive bidding process to host the 2027 YouthConnekt Africa Summit, positioning the two neighboring southern African nations at the forefront of continental youth empowerment discussions. Out of an initial field of five competing countries, only Zambia and Zimbabwe remain in the running to stage the high-profile ninth edition of the summit, which serves as Africa's premier platform for youth innovation, entrepreneurship, and skills development. A technical delegation from the YouthConnekt Africa Secretariat has been deployed across the region to conduct rigorous evaluations of national preparedness. The assessment teams are closely inspecting conference facilities, transport networks, digital connectivity, security protocols, and accommodation capacities in both Lusaka and Harare to determine which country offers the most robust environment for thousands of expected delegates. The ultimate winner is scheduled to be officially announced during the upcoming 2026 summit in Kigali, Rwanda. For Zambia, securing the hosting rights would mark a significant milestone in the country's ongoing efforts to drive youth inclusion and economic participation under national development frameworks. Having recently hosted localized youth initiatives and scaled up regional dialogue at venues like the Mulungushi International Conference Centre, Zambian stakeholders view the potential event as an invaluable catalyst for connecting young entrepreneurs with investors, financiers, and continental markets facilitated by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The YouthConnekt Africa initiative, originally pioneered by the Government of Rwanda and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2012, has grown into a powerful continent-wide movement operating in over 30 countries. It aims to address pervasive youth unemployment by linking young people to mentors, digital skills training, and financin