CEO Africa Roundtable Sets Stage For 2025 Conference

By Shingirai Vambe

Harare- Against the thunderous roar of the Zambezi River plunging into the Batoka Gorge, some of Africa’s most influential minds in business, governance, and innovation will converge this October to wrestle with one of the continent’s most urgent challenges, safeguarding agriculture in the face of intensifying climate change.

From 14–18 October 2025, the 11th edition of the CEO Africa Annual Roundtable will transform Victoria Falls into a hub of strategic thinking and high-level engagement. This year’s flagship theme, “Building Africa’s Agricultural Resilience”,  comes at a time when droughts, erratic rainfall patterns, and rising temperatures threaten to erode food security, displace rural communities, and undermine sustainable development goals.

It will not be just another conference of speeches and photo opportunities. Organisers say the 2025 gathering is being designed as a working platform, one where leaders from Zimbabwe, the wider African region, and beyond will dig deep into the mechanics of climate-smart agriculture, policy reform, and financing models that could shift Africa’s food production from vulnerability to stability.

“Africa sits at the epicenter of climate vulnerability, but also at the heart of opportunity,” says Kipson Gundani, Chief Executive of CEO Africa Roundtable. “With this panel, we want to catalyze meaningful dialogue and drive collaborative action that transforms our agricultural systems for a more resilient and prosperous future. We’re talking about bridging the gap between innovation and implementation, and making sure our farmers have the tools, data, and capital they need to adapt and thrive.”

The conference’s agriculture track will feature a much-anticipated keynote by Hon. Dr. Anxious Masuka, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development. His session is expected to address both the political will and technical solutions needed to stabilize food systems.

Among the critical talking points:

• Climate-Smart Agriculture Technologies — from drought-tolerant seed varieties to precision irrigation and integrated soil fertility management.

• Digital Agriculture Platforms — leveraging mobile tools, remote sensing, and data analytics to improve climate forecasting and farm-level decision-making.

• Innovative Financing — models such as climate insurance and blended finance to cushion smallholder farmers against losses.

• Public-Private Partnerships — building data-driven agribusiness ecosystems.

• Regenerative Farming — scaling up practices that restore soil health, conserve biodiversity, and strengthen ecosystem resilience.

While agriculture takes centre stage, the CEO Africa Roundtable will maintain its tradition of spanning multiple growth sectors. Delegates will take part in finance, energy, technology, infrastructure, and leadership dialogues, all aimed at accelerating Africa’s economic transformation.

The 2025 edition will also incorporate a Mental Wellness Day, giving participants a pause from intense policy debates to recharge in the wilderness of Chobe National Park. For others, the greens at Elephant Hills Golf Course will offer a more leisurely networking space.

This conference has, over the years, become a trusted forum for cross-border collaboration,  a place where business leaders from Harare to Lagos, policymakers from Pretoria to Nairobi, and investors from London to Dubai exchange ideas, forge partnerships, and take the pulse of Africa’s shifting economic landscape.

The stakes this year are particularly high. As climate shocks deepen and global supply chains strain, Africa’s agricultural strategy will determine not just rural livelihoods, but the stability of economies and the political security of nations.

Among the speakers will be senior Zimbabwe Government officials, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development, Felix Mhona, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Mangaliso Ndlovu, Minister of Energy and Power Development, July Moyo, Mutapa Investment Fund CEO, John P. Mangudya, Alpha Media Holdings Chairman, Trevor Ncube, to mention just a few.

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