Africagua Returns on November 20‑21
The business and institutional meeting between the Canary Islands and Africa was presented this morning at the Island Council.
The Palace of Training and Congresses in Fuerteventura will host the IX edition of Africagua Canarias 2025 on 20‑21 November. The international forum brings together companies, institutions and experts to promote sustainable solutions in water management and renewable energy.
The Island Council, the Fuerteventura Chamber of Commerce and the Government of the Canary Islands unveiled the IX edition of Africagua Canarias 2025, the international water‑and‑renewable‑energy forum that will take place on 20‑21 November at the Palace of Training and Congresses in Fuerteventura.
The presentation ceremony, held in the Council’s plenary hall, was attended by:
- Lola García, President of the Island Council
- Juan Jesús Rodríguez Marichal, President of the Fuerteventura Chamber of Commerce
- Manuel Miranda, Councillor for Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water of the Canary Islands Government
- David de Vera, Mayor of Puerto del Rosario
- Justo Artiles, Secretary‑General of Casa África
- Javier Franco Hormiga, Director of the Canary Islands Agency for Research, Innovation and the Information Society (ACIISI)
Also present were Nuria Cabrera, Island Councillor for Economic Promotion, and representatives of Caja 7.
“It is a forum that is already consolidated on our island and has repeatedly proven its ability to connect continents, share knowledge and generate real opportunities around water and renewable energy,” said Island President Lola García.
“For Fuerteventura, this event has a special meaning as an arid territory. It shares solutions that allow us to move forward and brings to the island representatives from African countries, together with European and American delegations, all working toward the same goal: guaranteeing a more sustainable future for everyone,” García added.
During his speech, Chamber President Juan Jesús Rodríguez Marichal highlighted that Africagua “was born with a clear vocation for international cooperation, generating synergies between the Canarian business fabric and African countries, which this year have an even more prominent presence.”
He emphasized that the Global Startup Competition “expands that potential by providing a space where startups will present innovative projects to investors and established companies, fostering technology transfer and creating real business opportunities.”
Councillor Manuel Miranda praised the continuity of the initiative, which is key to strengthening international cooperation and improving integrated water‑cycle management.
“For the Government of the Canary Islands, this forum represents far more than a technical or business event. It is a concrete expression of our territorial and cohesion policy, aimed at uniting capacities, territories and knowledge to move toward a more sustainable future, seeking partners in neighboring territories and countries.”
Miranda added that, during the current legislative term, the Canary Islands have updated hydraulic planning across all islands, meeting the deadlines set by the EU Water Framework Directive and enhancing the archipelago’s climate‑change adaptation capacity.
“This effort allows us not only to plan rigorously but also to share experience and knowledge with other territories facing similar challenges.”
Mayor David de Vera congratulated the organizers on Africagua’s consolidation, describing it as “a forum that seeks the transfer of knowledge and technologies with African countries, which must be driven by stronger communications with the northern part of the continent.”
Sofía Morales, technical officer of the Chamber of Commerce, presented the program details, which will include conferences, thematic panels, B2B meetings and the Global Startup Competition, in which more than 50 startups developing innovative water‑ and energy‑related solutions will participate.
Africagua Canarias is structured around six main pillars—water, renewable energies, engineering and infrastructure, R&D + I, governance and financing, and the social dimension—and gathers institutional representatives, experts, companies and multilateral organisations.
In its 2023 edition, the forum recorded over 300 participants and 84 bilateral meetings, establishing itself as a reference space for public‑private collaboration in sustainability. For 2025, the promoters have announced an expansion of bilateral meetings, supported by the Enterprise Europe Network Canarias.
Africagua Canarias 2025 is organised by the Fuerteventura Chamber of Commerce, the Fuerteventura Island Council and the Government of the Canary Islands, with the collaboration of ICEX, ITC, PROEXCA, Casa África, EEN Canarias, the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and CajaSiete.
The announcement comes after the leadership of the People’s Party (PP) in the Canary Islands and on the island of El Hierro withdrew their endorsement of the governing pact reached with the PSOE in the El Hierro council, demanding a retraction under threat of disciplinary proceedings that could lead to expulsion.