Ahead of the Africa Social Impact Summit (ASIS) 2025, scheduled for 10 and 11 July in Lagos, co-conveners Sterling One Foundation and the United Nations in Nigeria held a high-level press briefing at the United Nations House in Abuja. The event brought together development partners, policymakers, and the media to outline expectations for the upcoming summit and reflect on Africa’s role in defining local responses to global challenges.
Since its launch in 2022, ASIS has grown into a key platform for regional development collaboration. From eight founding partners, the summit now brings together over 40 institutions working across climate, healthcare, education, finance, governance, and digital inclusion. This expansion points to a growing shift: African institutions are pushing to set the agenda, not wait to be handed one.
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The 2025 summit, themed “Scaling Action for the SDGs: Bold Solutions for Climate Resilience and Policy Innovation,” will focus on strengthening sub-national development, rethinking finance flows, and tackling structural inequalities through long-term investment and reform.
Speaking at the press briefing, Mohamed M Malick Fall, Assistant Secretary-General and United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, reinforced the urgency of this year’s convening.
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“The climate crisis is eroding decades of development across Africa, displacing communities, disrupting education and health systems, and undermining economic stability. But lasting solutions must come from those living the impact daily. As co-conveners of the summit, and with this year’s theme, Scaling Action: Bold Solutions for Climate Resilience and Policy Innovation, ASIS offers a platform for African institutions to lead and for global partners to respond with investment, policy reform, and serious commitment.”
In a presentation on the summit’s evolving impact, Olapeju Ibekwe, CEO, Sterling One Foundation, reflected on the summit’s trajectory:
“ASIS has never been about convening for its own sake. Each summit marks a deliberate step to mobilise capital, shift policy, and advance African-led solutions. Already, we have seen over 100 million dollars unlocked through coalition efforts. That scale is not accidental. It is the product of systems thinking, partnership, and a commitment to putting Africa’s priorities at the centre of global development conversations.”
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In his remarks, Abubakar Suleiman, MD/CEO, Sterling Bank, emphasised the private sector’s enduring role in the ASIS journey:
“Sterling Bank has been a strategic partner to ASIS from the very beginning. As global development funding becomes more constrained, it is increasingly clear that the private sector must help drive scalable solutions. Our engagement with ASIS reflects a belief that impact is not a side effort but core to building resilient economies and inclusive growth.”
Other partners in the room echoed the need for bold, cross-sector investment in areas such as health systems, youth employment, education access, and digital infrastructure. ASIS boasts a coalition of over 40 institutions that includes Afreximbank, Coca-Cola, United Nations Global Compact Network Nigeria, Sterling Bank, and other theme and technical partners, with Lagos State as the host city.
Interested participants are encouraged to register here.
The profiles of co-conveners of ASIS 2025 reveal rich backgrounds. Sterling One Foundation (SOF) is a registered non-profit focused on tackling the root causes of poverty in Nigeria and Africa through interventions and social impact programmes across three critical sectors, namely: health, education and climate action & food security.
Gender equality and women empowerment are integrated as a cross-cutting priority across all its programming areas. The Foundation’s programmes adopt a central theme of prioritising partnerships for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
On its part, the United Nations System (UNS) in Nigeria, which comprises 19 resident and four non-resident entities, has had a long and productive engagement with the Federal Republic of Nigeria since its independence. The UN has been a catalytic supporter and trusted partner in Nigeria’s development efforts.
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