Lagos to Host West Africa’s Premier M&A Awards in 2026
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) – Lagos, Nigeria, is set to become a focal point for corporate finance in West Africa, hosting the DealMakers AFRICA Mergers & Acquisitions Awards in March 2026. The awards, recognizing advisory firms driving deal activity across the region, underscore the growing importance of Nigeria as a financial hub.
DealMakers AFRICA, founded in 2008, has been tracking and ranking advisory firms involved in mergers and acquisitions, equity raisings, and other financial transactions across Africa – excluding South Africa – through quarterly reports and annual league tables. The platform first held a standalone awards ceremony in Nairobi in 2019, expanding to Lagos with its inaugural West Africa event in March 2024.
“Hosting the awards in Lagos highlights the city’s role as a key financial and deal-making hub for the region,” said Marylou Greig, co-founder of DealMakers AFRICA. “The awards recognize the advisers, financiers and legal professionals who work tirelessly behind the scenes to bring complex transactions to completion.”
The awards process combines objective criteria – the number and value of transactions completed – with nominations submitted by advisory firms in East and West Africa for categories like Deal of the Year, Private Equity Deal of the Year, and Individual DealMaker of the Year.
Greig emphasized the resilience of advisory firms operating in the region despite ongoing economic challenges. “The quality of transactions completed during the year reflects not only strong deal-making capability but also the depth of professional expertise that exists across the region’s advisory firms,” she stated.
DealMakers AFRICA aims to expand its coverage beyond West and East Africa to include North and Southern Africa, developing more comprehensive league tables and awards that reflect dealmaking activity across the entire continent. The organization’s broader mandate is to foster investment, support corporate growth, and strengthen investment markets throughout Africa.
More information on DealMakers AFRICA and the awards can be found on their website: https://www.dealmakersafrica.com/.
