In the wake of Neom, the largest hydrogen deal closed to date, all eyes remain trained on Saudi as more and bigger projects come to market. The day before the conference kicks off, join us for an in depth briefing that takes an in-depth look at the opportunities in one of the most promising countries in the region.

• The project pipeline in Saudi Arabia

• Which borrowers should investors keep their eyes on?

• What ECA led innovations could be applied in Saudi?

Welcome to MEA 2025, brought to you by TXF, Proximo & Uxolo!

The Middle East, and the world at large, is experiencing turbulence to say the least. We take a deep dive into the geopolitical trends impacting business today, including:

• How companies are responding to conflict in the Middle East

• The broader ramifications conflict will have
• Debt sustainability, and which markets will need support moving forward

Local ECAs are still relatively new for the Middle East, but in their short lifespan they have invigorated projects across the globe. This session brings the Middle East’s local ECAs together to consider:

●     What role do the Middle East's ECAs have to play in Africa? What notable transactions have already closed, and how will the ECAs continue to support development across the continent?

●      What innovative structures have our ECAs offered clients?

●      How have ECAs used untied financing to support international projects?

Across the Middle East & Africa, sovereigns play a vital role in propelling projects - without their support, many vital infrastructure transactions could not go ahead. This session brings together sovereigns who are borrowing on the ECA market to consider:

•  How can ECAs best appeal to governments with their sights set on large scale projects?

• What impact do stringent ESG requirements have on emerging market borrowers?

• What do the project pipelines look like for each of our government representatives?

Grab a coffee and exchange business cards before our next sessions

Despite a now booming export trade, MENA is still one of the largest borrowing regions in the world. This session brings together ECA finance borrowers and project sponsors to consider:

• What does the project pipeline for large scale infrastructure look like in the MENA region?

• How are borrowers managing demands to decarbonise their portfolios?

• What could ECAs and financiers do to better support borrowers in MENA?
• It's been a bumper year for rail infrastructure - how are huge projects like Hafeet faring? 

Local expertise is a vital component to any deal, but especially those in Sub-Saharan Africa. This session digs in to their irreplaceable know-how:

• Why are local partnerships so important for African transactions? 
• Which African institutions are leading the way when it comes to partnerships with international firms? 
• How can global institutions keen to work in Africa engage with the right local partners?

Whilst plenty of attention is directed to MENA’s largest markets, there are vital projects that need to be done in smaller, often developing economies too – and all too often, they struggle to access financing. This session considers opportunities in MENA's smaller markets which can be perceived as 'riskier' by the international banking community.

●      What role can ECAs and DFIs play in supporting transactions in newer or frontier markets?

●      What unique financing needs do transactions in frontier markets present? How can we encourage participation from international banks, or help local banks with more regional knowledge better connect to the Global system? 

●      What impact do the rising political tensions in the Middle East have on newer markets seeking finance?

●      How should commercial banks and ECAs approach ESG requirements in emerging markets which still rely heavily on fossil fuels?

Large scale infrastructure projects such as transport, energy transmission, and water simply would not happen in emerging markets without agency support. This session takes a holistic view of critical infra prospects in emerging markets across the Africa, considering:

·       What do developers and manufacturers need most from ECAs and DFIs in critical infrastructure projects?

·       What differences have recent innovation in ECA products, such as longer tenors and untied financing, made to large scale critical infrastructure projects?

·       What creative solutions, including blended finance, could we use to consider Africa's infrastructure gap holistically? How do we coordinate multiple organisations and authorities to provide robust, sustainable infrastructure solutions? 

Amongst energy security concerns, critical mineral requirement for the energy transition, and concerns over food security, establishing reliable natural resource supply has never been more important. Enter the commodity traders, who have increasingly worked with ECAs to support resource security across the Middle East. This session considers:

• The role that traders play in securing natural resources
• How traders partner with ECAs and other organisations, and the importance of untied financing 
• How local banks can better support traders

Digital connectivity is no longer a privilege - in today's interconnected world, it's a right. But across Africa, digital infrastructure and services are not as accessible as they should be. This session considers Africa's digital landscape holistically, asking:

• How can different organisations, especially those who may have been siloed in the past, collaborate to increase digital connectivity in Africa?
• What impact does digital connectivity have for local communities, and especially for women? 
• How do we ensure that digital infrastructure projects go ahead when some ECAs are reticent to take non-sovereign exposure in emerging markets?
• What role can DFIs and multilaterals play in Africa's digital space?

Although strides are being made with new technology in MENA, conventional renewables - notably solar - are still leading the way. This session considers:

• The project pipeline for MENA's renewables
• Upcoming wind projects in Saudi
• The prevalence of solar in the UAE
• The potential for decarbonising industrial players, supporting the transition from baseload to renewables

Demand for social infrastructure, such as schools and hospitals, remains high across Africa - but the small tickets often required can mean that even the most necessary projects go un-financed. This session brings dealmakers together to discuss:

• The unique challenges that arise in financing hospital and education infrastructure
• How ECAs and DFIs can work on creative solutions to bring more social infra projects to financial close
• The role of local expertise in closing these deals

COP28 saw all eyes on Dubai, and MEA more broadly, in the global conversation about climate change; at the same time, many African countries cannot access basic electricity, yet are expected to transition at the same pace as developed economies.  This session considers the vital balancing act: pressing ahead with the urgent need to transition, whilst trying to meet significant energy demand in emerging markets.

• How should we approach the energy transition in an African context?

• How could developed markets in the Middle East lead the way in the energy transition? 

• What role should international developed markets play to ensure that emerging countries are assessed in their own right? Do ECAs and DFIs need to up their game in emerging markets?

• How important is gas as a transition fuel?

We invite all guests to join our relaxed roundtable session dedicated to celebrating women in export, project, and development finance

DFIs play a vital role in emerging market transactions, crowding funding into projects that, whilst critical for the local community, may otherwise not reach financial close. This session gathers DFI leaders to consider:

• What DFIs can bring to a transaction, and how they partner with the likes of ECAs and commercial banks

• How to crowd in the private sector

• How blended finance can support emerging market transactions

• Specific examples of transactions that would not have happened without DFI involvement

Although establishing itself as an export hub, the Middle East remains an important destination for ECA finance. When it comes to Africa, many projects simply wouldn’t be bankable without the ECA option. We invite ECAs from around the globe who have projects in the Middle East and Africa to discuss:

• The latest initiatives they have planned for MEA projects

• How international ECAs partner with local ECAs and banks to best support clients

•  How have changes to the OECD consensus impacted ECAs, and what innovations should we see as a result?

• Which markets ECAs are looking to support

Things might not have been smooth sailing in Egypt recently, but the country demonstrates a strong history of mega projects, and need remains high. This session considers:What developments will we see in Egypt’s transport and renewables pipelines in the near future?

• What developments will we see in Egypt’s transport and renewables pipelines in the near future?

• What role does the Egyptian sovereign play in closing deals in the country, and how could the finance market better support development?

• Which ECAs and DFIs are eyeing up Egypt?
  

Agriculture is a crucial sector across Africa, not only to generate income but to promote food security. This session considers Africa's Agricultural sector holistically, asking:

• How does the continent's infrastructure need to develop to better support the agricultural sector?
• What unique challenges do traders face when doing business in Africa?
• How does the geopolitical landscape affect Africa's agri sector?

A hub for investment, the UAE offers significant opportunities for the export and project finance community. It’s also established itself as a hub for exports and local entrepreneurship. This session considers:

• The project pipeline for transactions in the UAE

• The role of local institutions in driving growth

• How  the UAE’s institutions are partnering with other local leaders

The past few years have seen significant Middle Eastern investment into Sub-Saharan Africa, including the development of large renewables projects. This session considers:   

• How MENA can support Sub-Saharan African development     

• Successful investments into Africa, and how more Middle Eastern companies can get involved   

• The importance of government-to-government support from the Middle East into Africa