Addis Ababa, August 12, 2026 (FMC) — Ethiopia is set to bring mayors and city leaders from across Africa together this October, when Addis Ababa and Bishoftu host the upcoming African Mayoral Leadership Initiative (AMALI) Leadership Forum.
The choice of Ethiopia comes at a time when the country’s cities are undergoing an increasingly visible transformation, with urban development moving beyond individual infrastructure projects toward broader efforts to reshape how cities function, grow and serve their residents.
From integrated infrastructure and riverside development to urban digitalization, improved public spaces, data-driven management and efforts to strengthen municipal revenue, Ethiopia has placed city development increasingly high on its national development agenda.
That transformation gives the upcoming gathering a particularly relevant setting. As African cities confront many of the same pressures — rapid urbanization, infrastructure deficits, growing demand for public services, digital transition and the need for stronger local institutions — Ethiopia’s experience provides a range of approaches that can be examined, debated and shared among city leaders.
The forum, therefore, is poised to be more than a meeting of mayors; it can serve as a platform for African cities to compare experiences and explore practical solutions to challenges that increasingly transcend municipal boundaries.
The announcement follows high-level discussions between Minister of Urban and Infrastructure Chaltu Sani and AMALI Executive Director Jennifer Comalie on the significance of the forum, its long-term impact and the sustainability of the initiative. Minister Chaltu said AMALI has, over the past four years, played a pivotal role in strengthening mayoral leadership and driving transformative change across Ethiopian cities.
Her remarks point to an important dimension of urban transformation: physical development alone cannot determine whether a city succeeds. Effective urban leadership, capable institutions, reliable data and financially stronger municipalities are equally important in turning ambitious development plans into lasting improvements in the lives of residents.
In Ethiopia, AMALI has contributed to strengthening mayoral leadership and creating a lasting legacy while advancing urban digitalization and data management. It has also helped cities enhance domestic revenue mobilization and build greater self-reliance, according to the minister. These areas have become increasingly significant as Ethiopian cities seek to manage expanding populations and growing demands for infrastructure and services while building the institutional capacity needed to sustain development.
The broader urban development drive has also created a growing portfolio of experiences for Ethiopian cities to share. Addis Ababa, the country’s capital and a major diplomatic center for Africa, has in recent years seen large-scale initiatives focused on river and riverside development, public spaces, connectivity and urban renewal. The capital’s Entoto–Kebena river and riverside development, for instance, has added another dimension to the city’s efforts to combine infrastructure, environmental rehabilitation and public amenities.
Bishoftu, meanwhile, offers a different urban setting, bringing the forum beyond the capital and into a city with its own evolving development profile. Its inclusion as a host alongside Addis Ababa creates an opportunity for visiting city leaders to see different dimensions of Ethiopia’s urban landscape rather than experiencing the country solely through its capital.
The timing is also notable for AMALI itself. The initiative is designed to strengthen the transformative leadership capabilities of African mayors and governors, providing tailored support, peer learning and practical leadership development to help city leaders advance ambitious initiatives in their respective cities.
The 2026 AMALI cohort itself reflects the breadth of this continental network, bringing together 16 city leaders from 11 African countries, including mayors from several Ethiopian cities as well as leaders from cities such as Gaborone, Bujumbura and Accra.
For Ethiopia, hosting the forum consequently places its urban experience within a much wider African conversation. It creates space not only to showcase ongoing development efforts, but also to learn from cities elsewhere on the continent that are experimenting with new approaches to governance, finance, technology, infrastructure and service delivery.
The ministry has expressed strong commitment to ensuring the success of the upcoming forum, which will bring together mayors and city leaders from across Africa. At a time when African cities are becoming increasingly central to the continent’s economic and social future, the gathering could help turn individual city experiences into a broader exchange of ideas — and potentially into partnerships that extend well beyond the forum itself.
Ethiopia has hosted AMALI before. Addis Ababa welcomed participants of the AMALI City Leadership Reunion on October 5–6, 2023, when the initiative was presented as a platform for mutual learning and developing African solutions to African urban challenges.
The return of AMALI to Ethiopia this October thus comes at an interesting juncture: a country undertaking an expansive urban development drive will welcome city leaders from across the continent to discuss how African cities can build stronger leadership, institutions and solutions of their own.
Ultimately, the forum’s significance may extend beyond the cities hosting it. As Africa’s urban centers continue to expand, the question is no longer simply how to build bigger cities, but how to make them more livable, resilient, digitally capable, financially sustainable and responsive to the people who call them home. AMALI seeks to accelerate that transformation by strengthening the leaders responsible for shaping Africa’s urban future.