DealMakers AFRICA to Host West Africa M&A Awards in Lagos | 2024

Lagos, Nigeria is set to host the DealMakers AFRICA Mergers & Acquisitions Awards in March 2026, recognizing advisory firms driving deal activity across West Africa, according to an announcement made Saturday.

The awards will acknowledge firms involved in a range of financial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, equity raisings, listings, debt financing and private equity deals. DealMakers AFRICA, founded in 2008, tracks these activities quarterly, ranking advisory firms by deal value and volume on a country-specific basis. The platform aims to expand its coverage beyond West and East Africa to include North and Southern Africa, developing league tables and awards that reflect dealmaking across the continent.

Marylou Greig, co-founder of DealMakers AFRICA and Editor-In-Chief of CE Gleason Publications, emphasized the resilience of advisory firms operating in the region despite economic challenges. “The quality of transactions completed during the year reflects not only strong deal-making capability but also the depth of professional expertise that exists across the region’s advisory firms,” Greig said.

The awards process combines objective criteria – the number and value of transactions – with nominations submitted by advisory firms for categories like Deal of the Year, Private Equity Deal of the Year, and Individual DealMaker of the Year. DealMakers AFRICA first held a standalone awards ceremony in Nairobi in March 2019, and expanded to Lagos with its inaugural West Africa event in March 2024.

Greig highlighted Lagos’s growing importance as a financial hub. “Hosting the awards in Lagos highlights the city’s role as a key financial and deal-making hub for the region. The awards recognise the advisers, financiers and legal professionals who work tirelessly behind the scenes to bring complex transactions to completion. Their efforts help facilitate investment, support corporate growth and strengthen investment markets across the region,” she stated.

The platform plans to host dedicated ceremonies in both Nairobi and Lagos in 2026, aiming to deepen engagement with advisory firms and stakeholders in both regions. DealMakers AFRICA’s initial focus was on East and West Africa, but the organization intends to build closer relationships with advisory firms across the continent to improve the relevance of its publications and awards.