The 29th Africa Tech Festival, the continent’s most enduring and impactful technology gathering, is scheduled for 16-19 November 2026 at Cape Town International Convention Centre. This edition will convene government representatives, tech firms, telecom operators, infrastructure providers, business leaders, startups, and investors from Africa and beyond, supporting collaboration and dialogue on the continent’s digital future.
The programme is taking shape around some of the most pressing issues facing Africa’s digital economy, including artificial intelligence, infrastructure, cybersecurity, connectivity, and the changing investment environment for African technology businesses. David Monaghan, VP, Africa Tech Festival, noted that the issues facing Africa’s digital economy are becoming more interlinked, complex, and urgent.
Africa’s Digital Economy
The festival will provide a platform for conversations on the decisions, partnerships, and investment priorities that will shape the next phase of Africa’s digital development. Artificial intelligence will be a key focus area, with a panel titled Beyond Adoption: What Will Make Africa an AI Producer, Not Just a Consumer, exploring what is required to build globally competitive AI capabilities in Africa.
Sessions will examine the emergence of agentic AI in enterprise decision-making and how companies should prioritise investment across AI, cloud, data platforms, and core systems as they modernise for growth. They will also focus on the infrastructure underpinning it, including data centres, cloud infrastructure, and local compute capacity.
Infrastructure and Connectivity
The Next Wave of AI Infrastructure Growth panel will consider where new capacity should be built, the role of hyperscaler partnerships, and the need for localised compute to meet data sovereignty requirements. Dedicated discussions will examine which African markets are attracting investment interest and how power availability and hyperscaler presence are shaping that interest.
Africa’s next phase of digital growth also depends on extending reliable connectivity while keeping digital businesses and services secure. The Telecoms & Connectivity programme will examine fibre investment, 4G and 5G deployment, and the growing role of satellite technology in reaching underserved communities.
