ESG Outlook 2026: Navigating Strategy, Stakeholders and Standards By ESG in Action Africa
The recently concluded ESGiAA 2026 Outlook conference created a space for serious and enlightening discussion on how Africa is redefining the practice of sustainability. The theme, ESGiAA 2026 Outlook: Navigating Strategy, Stakeholders and Standards, framed a conversation that moved beyond policy statements and turned toward the business of doing.
The session opened with Bella Ikeme, Executive Director and Partner at ESG in Action Africa, who reminded participants that the event was not designed for formality or as a vanity project. It was, as she said, “a working conversation, a moment to move from ideas to action.” That invitation carried through the entire discussion and set the tone for what followed.
The World is Resetting
Ngozi Edozien, Managing Partner at ESGiAA, began her address with the observation that the world is undergoing a form of reset. According to her address, the combination of economic realignment, political uncertainty and regulatory reform has forced businesses to reconsider what responsibility looks like in practice. For African companies, this signifies a call to prepare.
In her words, companies that integrate sustainability within their operations “outperform those that treat it as an external demand.” The challenge now is to move from commitment to measurable accountability. She identified five key themes underpinning this reset.
- The shift from voluntary commitment to measurable accountability.
- The need to embed sustainability as a core business imperative.
- “Trump economics” and the political headwinds challenging ESG progress (She pointed out that the optics of regression do not evidently show the true direction of corporate momentum.)
- The growing importance of standardisation and compliance.
- The reality is that winning firms treat ESG not as a regulatory burden but as a driver of performance.
In addition to this, she drew attention to the gap between perception and reality. While public debate in some regions suggests a retreat from sustainability, data show that three-quarters of global firms are maintaining or increasing their ESG investments. “The movement has not slowed,” she said. “It has matured.”
Focusing on What Matters for Africa
From a long list of global trends, ESGiAA identified five that have particular weight for Africa. These include:
- Regulatory convergence and standardisation from global markets.
- Strengthening accountability and transparency.
- Innovation in renewable energy and green technology.
- Digital transformation and AI as tools for sustainability.
- The rising influence of the stakeholder and employee voice.
Ngozi linked these themes to the continent’s broader ambition to scale its enterprises and build credible institutions. In her words, “Accountability and transparency are not moral choices. They are the framework for growth.”
Local Experience and Practical Application
It is important to add that the panel session that followed brought these ideas into how it is applicable in real-world cases.
For example, in the discussion, Tobi Adeniyi, Managing Director of Unilever Nigeria, addressed the frequent claim that global corporations have weakened their sustainability commitments. He disagreed, explaining that Unilever’s approach has not been rolled back but rather refined.
He explained that Unilever has placed its global focus around four areas: climate, nature, plastics and livelihoods. In Nigeria, this has meant investing in what matters most to people and communities. He spoke about the Shakti initiative, which supports thousands of women entrepreneurs, and a partnership with UNICEF that trains young people in employability and digital literacy. He mentioned that their philosophy is simple. According to him, “Businesses cannot succeed in societies that fail.”
The Data Question
Riya Jeram, Chief Operating Officer of RIMM, focused on the infrastructure that turns good intentions into measurable results. In her view, the problem is rarely a lack of data but a lack of structure. “We are not starting from zero,” she said. “Many organisations already collect the right information; they simply have not organised it.”
She encouraged companies to begin by mapping what they already monitor, from energy use to workforce data. Once that information is structured, it becomes useful for decisions rather than for record keeping alone. In her words, “Data in isolation is noise. Structure gives it meaning.”
Technology as a Bridge
The discussion then turned to technology with Nkemdilim Uwaje-Begho, CEO of Futureoft and Co-founder of ESGiAA. She described how artificial intelligence and analytics can now model operations, forecast the results of sustainability decisions and test ideas before large investments are made.
Her examples ranged from global energy firms using digital simulations to African businesses applying similar tools for supply chain and efficiency analysis. Her view was that technology is no longer the privilege of scale. “With the right mindset,” she said, “a small company can operate with the clarity of a global player.” She argued that ESG and technology are not separate tracks. They form a single conversation about how to remain relevant and effective in a changing world.
Governance as the Foundation
Tinuade Awe, former CEO of NGX Regulation and member of the Global Reporting Initiative board, reminded the audience that no amount of enthusiasm can substitute for structure. Governance, she said, is what makes strategy real.
She urged boards to take clear ownership of sustainability, to embed ESG indicators into executive performance systems and to allocate budgets that reflect its importance. “You cannot manage what you refuse to fund,” she noted. She also cautioned that compliance, though often viewed as procedural, can be a useful beginning. “Even a checklist can shift behaviour,” she said. “Over time, it becomes a habit, and then it becomes a culture.”
From Compliance to Leadership
The closing reflections brought the conversation full circle. As Ngozi put it, the coming years will distinguish those who see ESG as a requirement from those who treat it as a path to leadership.
The group’s consensus was clear. Africa’s progress will depend on three things: disciplined governance, the intelligent use of technology and the willingness to build accountability into culture rather than compliance alone.
What ESGiAA demonstrated through this gathering is that the continent no longer waits for its sustainability story to be written elsewhere. It is shaping its own account, one that recognises that responsible business is not a borrowed concept but an African imperative.
Looking Ahead
This conversation does not end here. ESGiAA has distilled the insights from this event and other ongoing research into a comprehensive document, The ESG Outlook 2026. The document will be available in our next article, which goes deeper into the trends, regulations, and strategies that will shape the next phase of sustainable business across Africa. You can access it to understand how these shifts affect your industry and to identify the opportunities they present.
More importantly, as you plan your organisation’s ESG and sustainability priorities for 2026, reach out to us at ESG in Action Africa. We work with companies across sectors to design actionable, data-driven strategies tailored to African contexts, turning sustainability from aspiration into performance.
