African Women in Sports Summit announces Dakar 2026 signature panel

By Mutiu Olawuyi

Africa Sports Ventures Group has announced a distinguished lineup of global leaders who will headline the Signature Conversation at the 2026 50 Most Influential African Women in Sports Summit & Awards, scheduled to take place alongside the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

The flagship panel, titled “The Architecture of Change: Building Africa’s Women Sports Ecosystem,” will be held on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. local time at SEN Hôtel in Saly, Senegal.

The discussion will bring together leaders from sports governance, academia, media, public policy, entrepreneurship and international development to examine how Africa can build a sustainable, inclusive and globally competitive women’s sports ecosystem.

The announced panelists include Benny Bonsu, Chief of Content at Olympic Channel; Dr. Kamilla Swart-Arries, Associate Professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar; Mapulane Phohleli, Global Chair of the Sports Empowerment and Championships Wing at G100 Mission Million; and Dr. Eugenia Chidhakwa, Chief Director in Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture.

The session will be moderated by Dr. Memuna Williams, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Empowering Sustainable Change and Co-Founder and Operations Lead of Champs for Change.

According to the organizers, the conversation will explore how governments, federations, academic institutions, media organizations, private industry, international bodies and civil society can work together to accelerate women’s leadership and growth in African sport.

The theme is timely. Across Africa, women continue to break barriers as athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists, entrepreneurs and policymakers. Yet many still face limited investment, unequal visibility, weaker institutional support, fewer leadership opportunities and inadequate infrastructure.

The Dakar 2026 conversation is therefore expected to move beyond celebration. It will focus on the systems needed to make women’s sports stronger — funding, governance, media coverage, youth development, research, sponsorship, safe participation, athlete welfare and long-term career pathways.

Bonsu’s participation brings a global media perspective, especially on how African sports stories can reach wider audiences through strong content strategy and digital storytelling. Swart-Arries brings expertise in sport tourism, mega-events, sustainability and legacy, key areas as Senegal prepares to host a major Olympic event.

Phohleli’s work connects sport with women’s empowerment, leadership, peacebuilding and community transformation, while Chidhakwa brings experience in sport governance, youth development, Olympic values and gender equity policy.

Williams’ role as moderator is also significant, given her background in leadership, education, sustainable development and women’s empowerment across Africa and internationally.

The 50 Most Influential African Women in Sports Summit & Awards, also known as 50MIA, is described by organizers as Africa’s premier platform for recognizing and connecting women shaping the future of sport on the continent.

The annual summit convenes executives, policymakers, athletes, academics, media leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, sports organizations and development partners to promote collaboration, innovation and investment in women’s leadership and Africa’s sports industry.

For Senegal, hosting such a conversation during the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games period adds symbolic and practical value. It positions Dakar not only as a host of youth sport, but also as a center for policy dialogue on the future of African sports development.

The deeper challenge is ensuring that conversations at high-level summits translate into measurable change for girls and women in communities. Africa’s women sports ecosystem will grow when young girls have safe spaces to play, when schools support sports participation, when federations invest in women’s leagues, when media houses cover women athletes seriously and when sponsors treat women’s sport as a real market.

The Signature Conversation in Dakar offers an opportunity to build that agenda with clarity and urgency.

If properly followed by partnerships, investment and policy action, the 2026 summit could help move African women’s sport from recognition to transformation — creating pathways for leadership, economic opportunity, global visibility and community impact.