Stanbic Bank Kenya has announced the Group’s official partnership with One Young World Summit in Cape Town from 3–6 November 2026. Standard Bank will sponsor 61 young delegates, including delegates from East Africa, to attend the international forum for young leaders.
The One Young World Summit brings together young leaders from more than 190 countries, alongside business leaders, policymakers and changemakers, to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges. This marks the gathering’s first return to Africa in 13 years, following its inaugural hosting on the continent in Johannesburg in 2013.
“For Standard Bank, the partnership reflects our belief that Africa’s future growth and prosperity depend on investing in the potential of its young people. Investing in youth is both a moral imperative and strategically important for the continent’s future. With a young population (under 25 years old) totalling an estimated 900 million, Africa is decidedly on the cusp of demographic dividend.
This partnership is perfectly aligned to our purpose – “Africa is our home we drive her growth”. It allows us to invest in the future of the continent, and we look forward to working with One Young World to develop tomorrow’s leaders today,” says Lungisa Fuzile, Chief Executive for Africa Regions and Offshore at Standard Bank.
The 61 sponsored delegates comprise a special 30-person delegation comprising 24 alumni of its Graduate Programmes and 6 current graduates, as part of its plan to celebrate 30 years of its Graduate Programmes (including delegates from East Africa). It also comprises 21 students currently supported through the bank’s bursary programme, and 10 delegates drawn from young entrepreneurial clients and youth-focused Corporate Social Investment (CSI) partners
One Young World Summit Programme
Standard Bank will also contribute to the Summit’s programme through the participation of its senior leaders. Goolam Ballim, Chief Economist and Head of Research at Standard Bank Group, will participate in the Future of Africa session, offering perspectives on the continent’s economic outlook, opportunities for growth and the role of young leaders in shaping its future.
As the main sponsor of the Summit’s Closing Ceremony, Standard Bank will be represented by Lungisa Fuzile, who will deliver an address encouraging delegates to turn the ideas, connections and inspiration gained at the One Young World Summit into meaningful action.
This commitment is reflected in Standard Bank’s sustained investment in education, skills development, entrepreneurship and employment opportunities across the continent. In 2025, the Group invested an estimated KES 2 billion in corporate social investment initiatives across Africa, including programmes supporting access to quality education and the development of digital and entrepreneurial skills.
A central part of this commitment is Standard Bank’s award-winning Graduate Development Programme, established in 1997 and approaching its 30-year milestone. The programme has provided generations of young professionals with structured workplace experience, mentorship and career opportunities, building a pipeline of future leaders across the Group.
In 2025 alone, 251 graduates joined the Group’s graduate programmes across 11 countries.
“We are immensely proud of this very special partnership. With this year’s Summit taking place in Africa, it made sense to partner with Africa’s biggest bank by assets. Standard Bank has done genuinely impressive work to drive youth development and this aligns perfectly with the values of One Young World. The Closing Ceremony of the One Young World Summit 2026 marks the first step of a development journey that will undoubtedly benefit thousands of young people in Africa and beyond.” says Kate Robertson, Co-Founder and Chief Executive of One Young World.
At a time when there is increasing agitation for youth leadership on the African continent, the One Young World Summit offers a much-needed platform for young leaders across the continent to share ideas and solutions to modern governance shortcomings. The youth and young leaders are expected to take center stage in upcoming elections in Kenya, Angola, Tunisia, Nigeria, Burundi, Lesotho and Madagascar. The world will be watching the Kenyan and Nigerian elections that have hotly been contested in the recent past.
Among the great and the good attending the Summit are Forest Whitaker, Graca Machel, Nomzamo Mbatha, Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira, Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau and Mteto Nyati and other prominent personalities.
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