STS @10 Summit 2026 in Lagos: Deal Room Guide and Details to Confirm

If you plan to attend the Sustainability Table Discourse Series (STS) this October, sort out three things before you book: which dates and hours are correct, whether the ticket is free or paid, and who is actually speaking. The organiser's own channels do not yet agree on the first, do not state the second, and do not list the third.

Audience fit: STS is held in Lagos and aimed at Nigerian and African policymakers, corporates, investors, NGOs and founders working on sustainability. That is CBIconsort's core readership, so the relevance is direct.

What is confirmed

The programme described in the event listing includes four breakout tracks (clean energy and inclusive access; technology, AI and the SDGs; circular economy; resilient food systems), plus a CEO Roundtable, masterclasses, an investment Deal Room, innovation pitches and an arts exhibition called "The Earth Speaks."

Discrepancies to resolve before you plan travel

Different official pages give different details. CBIconsort could not tell which is correct, and the organiser has not said.

Most sources point to 15–16 October, and the 17 October reference looks like a homepage error. That is an inference, not a confirmation. If you are booking flights or a hotel, or need to block out work days, email the organiser and ask for the final schedule in writing.

Price and speakers: not confirmed

Ticket cost. The Eventbrite page we reviewed did not display a price. Some third-party listing sites label the event "Free," but those are aggregators and we found no statement from the organiser. Treat cost as unknown until you see the ticket options on Eventbrite or hear from the organiser.

Speakers. The organiser's speakers page says the 2026 line-up is still being confirmed. Anyone advertising named 2026 speakers before the organiser does deserves scepticism. For context only: the 2025 edition, held at Lagos Oriental Hotel on 23 October 2025, listed speakers including Lagos State's Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, and Rachel Moré-Oshodi of ARM-Harith Infrastructure Investments delivered the keynote, according to BusinessDay. That says something about the level the series draws, not who will attend in 2026.

The Deal Room: the part most worth your attention

Most summit pages promise "networking." STS has a structured mechanism for capital to meet projects, and it is open for registration now on the organiser's website. It has three tracks:

• Investors submit a profile: organisation type (angel, VC, PE, family office, DFI, foundation, corporate or government), ticket range (from under ₦5 million to above ₦2 billion), preferred stage, instrument (equity, debt, convertible note, blended finance and others), SDG focus and a mandate statement of up to 300 words.
• Entrepreneurs seeking grants submit project details, stage (idea, pilot or scaling), the amount sought, a 300-word project description and a 300-word statement on use of funds and expected impact. They upload PDFs: a concept note or proposal, proof of registration if applicable, and previous grant reports if applicable.
• Businesses seeking loans provide company size, registration status, sector, amount and tenure sought, and any existing loan obligations.

CBIconsort analysis. The forms show how the platform is designed. They do not show how it performs. The website does not state who reviews applications, what selection criteria apply, how many grants or loans have been made, what sums are available, or whether the Deal Room has closed deals in past editions. It describes itself as a matchmaking platform, so an application is best read as an introduction to potential funders, not an application for a guaranteed award. Do not plan cash flow around it.

Two practical points follow from the forms. The investor criteria list reads like a filter (profitable company, post-revenue, locally owned and managed, ESG-focused), which suggests early-stage ideas with no revenue may find fewer matches. And the grant form is the only one that accepts idea-stage projects, so it is the more realistic entry for early founders, while the loan form asks about registration status and arrears.

Who should attend, and who may not need to

Likely a good fit:

• Founders and SMEs in clean energy, waste and circular economy, agriculture or green infrastructure who want investor and lender introductions.
• Sustainability, ESG and CSR professionals looking for peers, vendors and regulators in one room.
• NGOs and development practitioners who want to meet corporate and public-sector funders (such as the ones discussed in our guide to accessing Green Climate Fund financing).

Probably lower value:

• Anyone who needs a confirmed speaker list before deciding, since none exists yet.
• Researchers who mainly want technical content. The stated format is dialogue, roundtables and pitches, and the organiser's own published record of past outcomes is thin on data.

What the organiser's own numbers say

The organiser reports that STS has convened more than 4,600 stakeholders since 2016, and that its 2025 edition had 842 participants and 15 global speakers, up from over 300 stakeholders in 2024. These are the organiser's figures, not independently audited. The website's homepage displays logos of many companies and public bodies under "Partners & Sponsors" (banks, consumer goods, telecoms infrastructure and state agencies). We could not confirm which are 2026 partners, since the page appears to reflect the series' history.

How to prepare

1. Email the organiser to confirm hours, end date, ticket price and what a ticket includes (both days? meals? masterclasses?).
2. Register on Eventbrite, then decide separately whether you want a Deal Room slot; they are different forms.
3. If applying as a founder or NGO, prepare a one-page concept note and your registration documents as PDFs before opening the form.
4. Decide which breakout track matches your goal, since sessions may run in parallel. The schedule has not been published.
5. Check the speakers page and the @sustainability_table Instagram account in the days before the event; the organiser says announcements will appear there.

FAQ

Is STS 2026 free? Unknown. The organiser has not published pricing on the pages we reviewed. Check Eventbrite directly.

Is it in person only? The Eventbrite listing describes it as an in-person event. We found no mention of a virtual option.

Can I present or pitch? The listing mentions innovation pitches and the website has a "Speaking Opportunity" option on its contact form. The selection process is not described, so ask the organiser.

Sources

• Organiser website: sustainabilitytable.com, including its speakers and Deal Room pages
• Eventbrite listing for STS 2026
• LinkedIn event page (Avant-Garde Limited)
• BusinessDay NG: coverage of the 9th edition

Verification note: Facts above were checked against the organiser's website and Eventbrite on 28 September 2026. CBIconsort is not affiliated with Avant-Garde or the Sustainability Table Discourse Series. Confirm all details with the organiser before making plans.