Africa’s beverage industry will converge in Nairobi and online on July 25 for New Pour Summit ’26, a hybrid event built around eight programme tracks designed to confront the sector’s most immediate operating risks. Organised by Drinkabl Africa under the theme “Liquid Resilience,” the summit combines in-person attendance in Kenya with virtual participation, with passes running from $30 for online access to $70 for a physical seat. More than 20 speakers from over 10 African countries are confirmed across more than 10 sessions.
The line-up signals where the organisers expect the sharpest commercial tension. Effie Thiong’o, Head of Innovation for East Africa at EABL, joins Mac Mabidilala of Ipsos Strategy3 and Eugene Omolo of Ogilvy, the Nairobi-headquartered network that manages a portfolio of more than 100 brands for clients including AB InBev, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Distell and Unilever across 39 African countries. Their presence on a single agenda reflects the summit’s central wager: that distribution, marketing, and category data are no longer separable disciplines for brands trying to hold margin in volatile markets.
Eight tracks structure the day. Market Intelligence opens proceedings with a session on converting real-time consumer data into brand action, followed by Channels and Distribution, which tackles route-to-market economics inside Africa’s informal retail networks. Products and Innovation addresses formulation for global scale without losing local palate relevance, while Capital and Investment examines how founders structure deals and retain investor confidence once financing costs rise.
The afternoon turns to softer but commercially consequential ground. Advertising gets a dedicated workshop on building high-recall campaigns across fragmented media markets, and Brand and Marketing examines how positioning holds across generational divides. A panel on culture and consumer trends will unpack purchasing behaviour shifts, before the day closes with a fireside conversation under the banner “Turnaround Champions,” profiling brands that reclaimed growth during economic downturns.
That closing session carries particular weight for the Nigerian and Kenyan operators in Drinkabl’s regular coverage. Feyi Olubodun, founder of Open Squares Africa, built his reputation interpreting how African consumers actually behave rather than how imported planning models assume they behave, a distinction that matters more as brands cut SKUs and renegotiate distributor terms under currency pressure. His appearance follows Drinkabl’s own coverage of the summit’s launch in June, when organisers confirmed Nairobi as the host city and opened registration for both formats.
Currency volatility, rising financing costs, and informal distribution gaps have already forced ownership changes across Nigerian and Kenyan beverage markets this year, Diageo’s EABL exit and Champion Breweries’ leadership reshuffle among them. Whether a day of panels on data and creative execution changes how operators respond to that pressure is the question several speakers are expected to confront directly. Seats for both formats remain open, and early pricing closes as the date approaches. Register for the New Pour Summit ’26 to join that conversation in Nairobi or online.
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