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ECW Dakar 2026: Executive Guide to 14–20 December
Plan ECW Dakar 2026: ISO 27001 training, the 19 December Executive Forum, ECW Live, dinners, the Partner Hub, partnerships and invitation-only experiences.
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Executive Cybersecurity Week — ECW Dakar 2026 — takes place from 14 to 20 December 2026 in Dakar.
The week brings together ISO/IEC 27001 training and certification, executive cyber/AI conversations, professional networking, the Partner Hub, dinners and private experiences.
The idea is simple: enable a broad audience to join the conversation while keeping the in-person and relationship-building experience more selective.
ECW Dakar 2026 at a glance
| Date | Experience |
|---|---|
| 14–18 December | PECB Certified ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Implementer — Executive Experience |
| 17 December | ECW Closing Dinner |
| 19 December | ECW Executive Forum |
| 19 December | Executive Forum Dinner |
| 20 December | Private Executive Experiences — invitation only |
City: Dakar, Senegal
Venue: to be announced
Executive Forum: Saturday 19 December 2026
1. ECW Executive Forum — 19 December
The Forum is the week's central executive gathering.
It primarily brings together:
- CEOs and managing directors;
- CISOs;
- CIOs;
- CTOs;
- COOs;
- chief risk, compliance and resilience leaders;
- board members;
- public and institutional leaders;
- investors;
- selected experts and founders;
- technology companies.
The Forum is free
But in-person access is curated.
Registration therefore does not automatically guarantee an in-person place. An application may result in:
- confirmed in-person access;
- a priority waiting list;
- ECW Live access;
- no in-person access for this edition.
2. ECW Live — participate from anywhere
ECW Live extends selected content beyond Dakar.
The digital experience is designed to support up to approximately 4,000 participants. This is capacity and a reach ambition, not a guaranteed number of participants or decision-makers.
Registrants receive, among other things, a professional ECW account and the digital features made available for the edition.
3. ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Implementer Executive Experience — 14–18 December
The Executive Experience is based on the PECB Certified ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Implementer programme.
Public price
€2,500 excluding tax
Included
- PECB Certified ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Implementer programme;
- five days of training;
- exam / certification pathway;
- ECW VIP status;
- Closing Dinner on 17 December;
- confirmed Forum access on 19 December;
- Executive Forum Dinner on 19 December.
The private experiences on 20 December remain invitation-only.
Programme
Day 1 — Introduction to ISO/IEC 27001 and initiation of the ISMS
Day 2 — Implementation plan
Day 3 — ISMS implementation
Day 4 — Monitoring, continual improvement and audit preparation
Day 5 — Certification exam
Explore the Executive Experience
4. Closing Dinner — 17 December
The Closing Dinner brings together the training cohort and selected guests on the evening before the certification exam.
It marks the end of the shared learning programme before the final assessment and executive weekend.
It is included in the Executive Experience. It is not sold as a public ticket.
5. Executive Forum Dinner — 19 December
On Saturday evening, the conversation continues in a more intimate setting.
The Executive Forum Dinner is designed as a professional hospitality experience, with access included for Executive Experience participants and allocations according to the entitlements of certain partners/guests.
It is not sold as a public ticket.
6. Private Executive Experiences — 20 December
Some conversations require an even smaller room.
The private experiences on Sunday 20 December are invitation-only. They are not automatically included with the Forum, training or sponsorship.
7. ECW Partner Hub — the business layer
The Partner Hub is ECW's professional connection layer.
All participants have an ECW professional profile. Depending on access rights, partners may:
- explore relevant profiles;
- filter by industry, country or role;
- build a shortlist;
- request connections;
- request meetings;
- request private contact details when this feature is available;
- access certain VIP, Speaker, Ambassador, Partner or Executive categories according to their package.
Organisations and teams
A sponsor is not simply an individual account. It enters ECW as an organisation.
Its organisation may include several representatives who themselves hold different ECW roles:
- Sponsor Representative;
- VIP;
- Speaker;
- Training Participant;
- Ambassador.
The Hub also displays sponsor and partner organisations with their ECW level/status, facilitating B2B relationships between companies in the ecosystem.
Objective
Do not arrive in Dakar hoping to run into the right person. Arrive with a shortlist and conversations already underway.
8. Partnerships — for startups and major companies alike
ECW offers several partnership levels.
Startup Partnerships
- Startup Access — Founding 2026: €1,500 excluding tax;
- Startup Growth — €3,500 excluding tax;
- Startup Scale — €7,500 excluding tax.
Corporate Partnerships
- Executive Partner — €15,000 excluding tax;
- Strategic Partner — €30,000 excluding tax;
- Presenting Partner — €55,000 excluding tax.
These prices are the Founding Partner Rates 2026, associated with the first edition and available subject to applicable ECW conditions.
Prices and benefits are visible before sign-in. The formal request begins with Request Partnership Access.
9. Why Dakar's week is particularly interesting in 2026
SIPEN 2026 takes place in Dakar on 17 and 18 December, at the King Fahd Palace, focusing on cybersecurity, digital trust and sovereignty.
ECW holds its Executive Forum on 19 December.
For international professionals and sponsors, this creates a rare window: several days of digital/cyber activity in Dakar, with different formats — exhibition and a broad ecosystem on one side, and a more curated executive experience on the other.
See: Major Cybersecurity and AI Events in Africa in 2026.
10. Which pathway should you choose?
| Your objective | ECW pathway |
|---|---|
| Follow remotely | ECW Live |
| Attend the in-person Forum | Executive Forum application |
| Training + certification + VIP Forum | Executive Experience |
| Build pipeline / meet decision-makers | Partnership + Partner Hub |
| Speak | Speaker application |
| Support the ecosystem | Media / Community / Knowledge / Institutional / Technology Partner |
| Access private experiences | Invitation only |
Quick FAQ
Is the Forum paid?
No. The Forum is free, with curated in-person access.
How much does the training cost?
€2,500 excluding tax for the complete Executive Experience.
Is the venue confirmed?
Not yet. The official venue will be announced on executivecyberweek.com and through ECW communications.
Does the Forum guarantee sponsors access to participants?
No. Partners have discovery and meeting-request features according to their access level. Relationships remain based on mutual interest.
Can you sponsor without attending in person?
Yes, certain startup packages and digital activations can work remotely.
Sources
- PECB — ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Implementer: https://pecb.com/fr/education-and-certification-for-individuals/iso-iec-27001/iso-iec-27001-lead-implementer
- SIPEN Dakar 2026: https://www.sipen-dakar.com/
- ECW public content source of truth — internal approved editorial source