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Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI) Invites Rugby Africa President Herbert Mensah to Speak at Unstoppable Africa 2026 During UN General Assembly High-Level Week

Mensah joins global leaders in New York to address how Africa can capture more of the value generated by its sporting talent.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa– Rugby Africa (www.RugbyAfrique.com), the continental governing body for rugby in Africa, announced today that its President, Herbert Mensah — who also serves as an Executive Board Member of World Rugby and as Chairman of World Rugby Regions — has accepted an invitation from Ms. Sanda Ojiambo, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and CEO of the UN Global Compact, to speak at the fifth edition of the Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI) — Unstoppable Africa 2026, taking place in New York City on 20–21 September 2026, alongside the 81st United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week.

On the afternoon of Monday, 21 September, Mr. Mensah will take part in the session “Real Value from the Field: Protecting and Profiting from Africa’s Talent Pipeline” — a discussion of how transparent contracts, smarter scouting, and stronger regional leagues can enable Africa to retain more of the value its sporting talent generates, and channel that value back into the communities and institutions that produce it.

“African sporting talent has long been a global asset. What has too often been missing is the framework to ensure that its value flows back to the continent, the schools, and the communities that produce it,” said Herbert Mensah, President of Rugby Africa. “I am honoured to bring rugby’s perspective to Unstoppable Africa 2026, and to make the case that Africa can — and must — build the institutions and the industrial base to keep more of what it creates.”

Convened by the United Nations Global Compact, GABI has grown since its inception in 2022 into the premier global platform for African business, trade, and investment outside the continent. The 2026 edition is expected to bring together some 4,000 participants, including Heads of State, Fortune 500 CEOs, global investors, and leading entrepreneurs, against the backdrop of an African market whose potential is now estimated to exceed USD 3 trillion.

Previous editions of Unstoppable Africa have featured, among many others, UN Secretary-General António Guterres; UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed; H.E. William Ruto, President of Kenya; H.E. Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados; Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization; Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group; Mo Ibrahim, Founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation; Melinda Gates, Founder of Pivotal Ventures; and Grammy-winning artist and activist Angélique Kidjo.

Rugby Africa welcomes the opportunity to contribute to this conversation and to place sport, and rugby in particular, firmly within the agenda of Africa’s economic transformation.

Media Contact: 

Nicole Vervelde 

Communications Manager  

nicole.vervelde@rugbyafrique.com 

About Rugby Africa: 

Rugby Africa (www.RugbyAfrique.com) is the governing body of rugby in Africa and one of the regional associations under World Rugby. It unites all African countries that play rugby union, rugby sevens, and women’s rugby. Rugby Africa organizes various competitions, including the qualifying tournaments for the Rugby World Cup and the Africa Sevens, a qualifying competition for the Olympic Games. With 40 member unions, Rugby Africa is dedicated to promoting and developing rugby across the continent. World Rugby highlighted Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia as three of the six emerging nations experiencing strong growth in rugby.