Project Management Institute (PMI), the world's leading association for project professionals, has announced that its annual Africa Conference, a marquee event for The Project Economy leaders will return as an in-person event. The conference will be hosted at the Eko Hotel & Suites in Lagos, Nigeria from September 11- 13, 2022. 

Now in its seventh year, the 2022 edition is themed Sustainable Growth for Social Good: Connecting ideas, people, and projects. Last year’s virtual conference attracted more than 1400 attendees. This year, it is expected to attract over 700 attendees, a number limited to ensure everyone’s safety and in full compliance with the Federal Government’s Covid-19 protocols. 

Every year, the conference attracts dozens of speakers who bring distinct, valuable, and unique conversations, providing education to drive the future of the profession. The expo floor at the conference will showcase products and services. 

The conference will deliver expert insights, as well as serve as a platform for networking and knowledge sharing. PMI has announced a call for proposals from speakers interested in sharing the stage with international experts. Proposals can be submitted via the link pmiafricaconference.com/call-for-papers. 

Announcing the dates, Ashwini Bakshi, Managing Director, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa, PMI said, “The conference is where visionary project leaders, captains of industry, and government come together to scrutinise the trends and technologies required to transform how projects are delivered.” 

“At its heart, the Africa Conference has always been a forum to create connections and build a project management community.”

Now more than ever, project management is key to the revival of firms in the post-pandemic world. In Sub-Saharan Africa, project management-oriented employment (PMOE) is expected to rise by 40% during this decade according to PMI’s Talent Gap survey. The total GDP of projectified industries—industries with significant project management requirements—is estimated to increase from $24.7 trillion in 2019 to $34.5 trillion in 2030. 

“It is important that we continue to have these conversations as projects, and the successful management of them, are essential to industry and economic growth across the continent,” Bakshi adds.

At the Africa Conference, PMI’s growing community of millions of project professionals and changemakers worldwide will gain insight and access tools to turn their ideas into reality.

On hosting the conference in one of the continent’s largest economies, the PMI Nigeria Chapter President, Paul Omugbe said, “We are looking forward to welcoming delegates from across the world as they join us in September for the in-person event. The profession is at an exciting point as governments gear to build back better and what better place than a centrepiece event like the Africa Conference to have a dialogue.”

The conference is open to global audiences keen to learn how changemakers and project professionals in Africa are seizing this incredible growth opportunity. 

The conference brings together chapter leaders, members, volunteers, captains of industry, government, and stakeholders from the project management sphere – project, programme, and portfolio managers with similar career goals to share best practices, earn professional development units (PDUs), meet like-minded professionals, learn, and retain valuable skills and knowledge. 

The full line-up of speakers will be announced in the next few weeks.