Lagos has once more taken the continental highlight because it hosts the 2025 Worldwide Convention on Sustainable City Mobility (SUMConference25), a landmark platform convened by the Lagos Metropolitan Space Transport Authority (LAMATA) to drive Africa’s transition towards cleaner, smarter, and extra inclusive transport programs.
The convention with the theme: “Harnessing clear city transport innovation and funding in Africa.” brings collectively policymakers, financiers, engineers, and improvement companions from throughout the continent to discover sustainable pathways for reworking city mobility by innovation and strategic funding.
Declaring the summit open, Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by his deputy, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, described clear transport as “a prerequisite for competitiveness and public well being, not a luxurious.” He stated the convention shouldn’t be seen merely as an occasion however as “a foundational motion for continental renaissance” anchored on sustainable mobility.
“This convention represents a defining second for Africa’s cities,” he stated. “We should harness innovation and direct funding in the direction of constructing transport programs which can be climate-smart, people-focused, and future-ready. Lagos is main this cost with insurance policies that promote electrical mobility, CNG adoption, and sustainable transport integration.”
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Sanwo-Olu famous that the speedy urbanisation confronting African cities additionally presents a uncommon alternative to guide the worldwide clean-transport revolution. He cited the successes of Dakar’s Electrical Bus Fast Transit and Kigali’s biking lanes as examples of African ingenuity that show sustainable mobility is achievable on the continent.
“Our objective,” he stated, “is to create an African Platform for Sustainable Mobility that may harmonize requirements, pool sources, and advocate truthful financing for clear transport improvement.”
The Managing Director of LAMATA, Engr. (Mrs.) Abimbola Akinajo, underscored the importance of the gathering, describing it as a shift “from dialogue to concrete motion.” She stated the convention was conceived to show shared concepts into measurable outcomes that advance Africa’s clear mobility agenda.
“This platform isn’t just about speak,” she stated. “It’s about collaboration, innovation, and funding that may make clear transport achievable and worthwhile throughout the continent. Our duty is to forge a future outlined by effectivity, fairness, and sustainability.”
Akinajo outlined LAMATA’s dedication to scaling up clear transport applied sciences, together with compressed pure fuel (CNG) and electrical buses, and to selling initiatives corresponding to SHE-CAN, which prioritizes security and inclusiveness in city mobility.
She famous that the summit, which advanced from the Africa Sustainable Mobility Course hosted in 2022 and 2023, has grown right into a full-scale worldwide dialogue aligning with the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026–2035). “We’re making a continental community of actors dedicated to low-carbon transport programs that help social inclusion and financial resilience,” she stated.
In his remarks, the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Oluwaseun Osiyemi, reaffirmed the state’s dedication to insurance policies that align with world sustainability requirements. “Our objective is to make sure that transport in Lagos evolves with expertise and environmental duty at its core,” he stated. “By strategic planning, we’re integrating electrical automobiles, increasing CNG infrastructure, and modernising site visitors administration to make Lagos a clear, environment friendly, and resilient megacity.”
The high-level attendance mirrored the rising momentum behind the clear mobility agenda. Dignitaries current included the Chairman, Lagos State Home of Meeting Committee on Transport, Hon. Temitope Adewale; Commissioner for Transport, Ogun State, Hon. Gbenga Dairo; Everlasting Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Olawale Musa; Common Supervisor, LASPARK, Mrs. Adetoun Ibilola; and Common Supervisor, LASPA, Mrs. Adebisi Adelabu.
Delegates from greater than 12 African nations, together with Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana, South Africa, and Ethiopia, joined representatives from the African Improvement Financial institution (AfDB), UN-Habitat, and C40 Cities. Discussions centred on financing frameworks, various fuels, carbon markets, clever transport programs, and air high quality administration, that are all key to positioning African cities for sustainable financial development.
Akinajo stated Lagos’s rising popularity as a hub for clear transport reform and data trade locations it on the forefront of Africa’s sustainable mobility motion. “From our waterways to our roads, Lagos is embracing innovation not as an experiment, however as a necessity,” she stated.
The three-day convention continues with technical periods, exhibitions, and funding boards showcasing improvements in electrical automobiles, good mobility, and climate-resilient infrastructure.
