Africa’s solar market has entered a new phase of rapid expansion, creating significant opportunities for technology providers, developers, manufacturers, investors and service companies looking to participate in one of the world’s most exciting emerging renewable energy markets.
Against this backdrop, Solar Africa Expo will take place as a dedicated side event to the Africa Energy Indaba 2027, bringing the solar industry directly into one of Africa’s most influential gatherings of energy decision-makers.
The Africa Energy Indaba takes place from 2–4 March 2027 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) and brings together governments, utilities, independent power producers, investors, developers, technology companies and energy leaders from across Africa and internationally.
Solar Africa Expo will provide a focused platform within this broader energy ecosystem for companies driving the expansion of solar PV, battery storage and distributed energy across the continent.
AFRICA JUST RECORDED ITS FASTEST YEAR OF SOLAR GROWTH
The timing could hardly be more significant.
According to the Global Solar Council’s Africa Market Outlook for Solar PV 2026–2029, Africa installed approximately 4.5 GW of new solar PV capacity during 2025 – a 54% increase year-on-year and the continent’s fastest annual solar growth on record.
Solar growth is also spreading beyond Africa’s traditional leading markets.
Eight African countries installed more than 100 MW of new solar capacity during 2025, compared with only four countries the previous year. South Africa led installations with approximately 1.6 GW, followed by Nigeria with 803 MW, Egypt with 500 MW and Algeria with 400 MW.
Emerging markets including Morocco, Zambia, Tunisia, Botswana, Ghana and Chad are also recording meaningful new capacity.
The message for the global solar industry is increasingly clear:
Africa is going solar – and the market opportunity is expanding.
MORE THAN A UTILITY-SCALE SOLAR STORY
Importantly, Africa’s solar opportunity is no longer being driven solely by large government-procured utility-scale projects.
Businesses, mines, industrial facilities, commercial property owners and households are increasingly investing in their own generation capacity as they seek reliable, affordable and resilient electricity.
This is creating opportunities throughout the solar value chain – from utility-scale projects to commercial and industrial solar, rooftop installations, mini-grids, battery energy storage and increasingly sophisticated distributed energy systems.
For companies supplying these markets, the question is no longer simply whether Africa’s solar industry will grow.
The question is who will capture that growth.
SOLAR AFRICA EXPO: A MARKETPLACE FOR AFRICA’S SOLAR OPPORTUNITY
Solar Africa Expo will bring together companies operating across the solar and energy-storage value chain, including:
- Solar PV modules and components
- Inverters and power electronics
- Battery energy storage systems
- Mounting and tracking technologies
- EPC and engineering companies
- Utility-scale solar developers
- Commercial and industrial solar providers
- Rooftop and distributed energy solutions
- Mini-grid and off-grid technologies
- Digital energy and energy-management systems
- Finance and investment providers
- Manufacturing and localisation
- Grid integration technologies
- Operations and maintenance providers
The Expo will provide companies with an opportunity to showcase technologies, demonstrate solutions, build partnerships and develop new business across African markets.
POWERED BY THE REACH OF AFRICA ENERGY INDABA
What differentiates Solar Africa Expo is its positioning alongside the Africa Energy Indaba.
Rather than operating as an isolated solar exhibition, Solar Africa Expo will connect the solar industry with the broader ecosystem required to turn technology into projects.
Africa Energy Indaba attracts the organisations responsible for making critical energy investment and procurement decisions – including African governments, utilities, regulators, IPPs, project developers, investors, development finance institutions, engineering companies and technology providers.
The 2027 Africa Energy Indaba Week will combine its main conference and exhibition with a range of specialised energy forums and side events, creating multiple opportunities for participants to connect across the energy value chain.
For solar exhibitors, this means access not only to other solar companies, but to the buyers, developers, financiers, utilities and governments that will determine where Africa’s next generation of solar projects gets built.
FROM TECHNOLOGY TO PROJECTS – AND PROJECTS TO POWER
Despite Africa’s extraordinary solar resources, millions of people and businesses across the continent still require access to reliable and affordable electricity.
Solar, combined increasingly with battery storage, provides an opportunity to deploy generation capacity faster and at multiple scales – from individual businesses and communities to some of the continent’s largest power projects.
But technology alone will not deliver Africa’s solar potential.
Projects require investment. Developers require finance. Utilities require additional generation. Governments require workable regulatory frameworks. Businesses require reliable suppliers. And technology companies require access to markets.
Solar Africa Expo and Africa Energy Indaba bring these different parts of the energy ecosystem together.
DON’T WATCH AFRICA’S SOLAR MARKET GROW. GROW WITH IT.
For international and African companies seeking to expand their footprint across the continent, Solar Africa Expo provides a platform to position their brands at the centre of this rapidly developing market.
Exhibition opportunities are now available for companies across the solar, storage and distributed-energy industries.
Africa’s solar market is accelerating. The opportunity is happening now. Make sure your business is part of it.
BOOK YOUR EXHIBITION STAND AT SOLAR AFRICA EXPO
Solar Africa Expo
A dedicated side event to Africa Energy Indaba 2027
2–4 March 2027
Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC)
Cape Town, South Africa
DON’T WATCH AFRICA’S SOLAR MARKET GROW. GROW WITH IT.
ENDS
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