We are delighted to announce the launch of the IFLR Africa Awards 2026 celebrating the most innovative cross-border deals closed in in the region in 2025, and the law firms, legal teams and lawyers behind them..
Submission deadline: December 5 2025
Shortlist publication: January 2026
Awards ceremony: March 2026
The full categories, criteria and research methodology are detailed in our Awards Guidelines. All entries must be uploaded to the PORTAL by December 5 2025.
Deals that reach financial close between December 5 2025 and year-end can be submitted by January 7 2026; a deadline which is strictly for these deals and cannot be extended.
For any questions about the research, please contact lead researcher Deborah Olaniyi.
For queries about business development and commercial opportunities related to the awards, please contact Stuart Gurney
The results of the IFLR Africa Awards 2025 can be viewed here: Winners and Shortlist.
About the Awards
IFLR's awards strive to showcase achievements that break new legal ground and increase the sophistication and clarity of legal frameworks, for the betterment of cross-border investment.
The awards celebrate legally innovative cross-border transactions and focus on the capital markets, banking and finance, M&A, private equity, project finance and restructuring.
IFLR will also showcase the industry rising stars; the most outstanding in-house lawyers and teams of the year; and ground-breaking innovation in legal technology, net-zero transition initiatives, and financial services regulatory.
For 2026, the awards will only consider work that completed in 2025. Deals that do not close before the end of December 20245 will not be considered. All deals must also meet the cross-border criteria, unless otherwise stated.
In reviewing projects, IFLR's internal judging committee considers structural sophistication and complexity, impact, and contextual challenges in execution. Size, media coverage and commercial success are not important.
Good luck!
