Imbono and the University of Cape Town Announce Three-Year Partnership to Advance Future-Ready Infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa At AEW 2026

At African Energy Week 2026 in Cape Town, Imbono, an operational platform focused on infrastructure and critical logistics across emerging markets and the University of Cape Town (UCT) announced a three-year academic partnership that aims to turn sub-Saharan Africa’s infrastructure resilience into something that can be measured, tested and improved.

According to Chris Marais, Head of Communication at Imbono, the partnership combines UCTs research capabilities with Imbono’s experience in operating complex infrastructure projects in sub-Saharan Africa.

This partnership aims to tackle the $10.2 to $11.4 billion needed annually to recover infrastructure losses in Africa, working over three years to advance understanding of infrastructure resilience and support more informed, long-term investment decisions across sub-Saharan Africa.

The work to be undertaken by the partners will focus on developing a Unified Resilience Index and decision support platform. These tools will help assess performance, identify risks and opportunities, and evaluate potential interventions.

The research will cover infrastructure across energy, water, food and social sectors, with the methodology designed to reflect the different economic, environmental and operating conditions found across Sub-Saharan Africa.

It will provide a consistent, data-driven approach to assessing factors that influence the long-term performance and resilience of infrastructure projects.

Moreover, the partnership will also support knowledge development and capacity building in Africa, including the sponsorship of two PhD students whose research will contribute to the broader objectives of the initiative.

According to Kathy Michell, Research Director at UCT, infrastructure development and reliability have been a chronic challenge across Africa. “This joint research project will allow for the development of a tool that can highlight key infrastructure challenges, potentially resulting in the formulation of long-term solutions,” she said.

By combining academic research with real-world infrastructure experience, the partnership aims to contribute to a more data-driven approach to decision-making and long-term value creation across the region.