One festival, nine stages: what to expect at Africa Tech Festival

In November, Cape Town hosts the first Africa Tech Festival built as a single, connected programme. The 29th edition runs at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 17-19 November 2026, with VIP and partner events from 16 November.

The festival began life in 1997 as AfricaCom. Over the last 29 years, the conversations on the continent have moved well beyond connectivity, into data centres, AI, cybersecurity, start-ups and the way enterprises are rebuilding around cloud and fintech. This year the programme matches that: one name, one agenda, nine stages, more than 100 sessions and over 400 speakers.

What changed, and why

For years, AfricaCom, AfricaTech, The AI Summit Cape Town and AfricaIgnite helped us build distinct communities across the technology ecosystem. But the conversations have become increasingly interconnected.

So for 2026, we’ve brought everything together under one Africa Tech Festival, with a programme built around six pillars: Telecoms & Connectivity, Data Centres, AI, Cybersecurity, Start-ups and Digital Transformation. AI depends on connectivity, cloud and data infrastructure. Digital transformation raises questions around cybersecurity, skills and investment. Start-ups are building solutions that cut across all of these industries.

We’ve designed the programme to reflect those connections. You can explore one pillar in depth or follow a single business challenge across different stages and conversations.

What is new in 2026

New stages. We’ve introduced four new stages for 2026: Next Gen Networks (satellite, 4G and 5G, and AI-driven network optimisation), Future of Fibre, Data Centres & Cloud Services and AI-Enabled Telco, plus a dedicated Fintech stage. Each answers a specific area of market demand, from financing and building digital infrastructure to creating new revenue from connectivity and digital financial services. The headline keynotes run in a separate auditorium.
A hackathon. The M-Pesa Innovation Safari is a new hackathon developed with M-Pesa Africa. It gives developers and early-stage fintech founders a place to tackle real challenges, from expanding financial inclusion and simplifying cross-border commerce to using AI to build smarter mobile money services. For me, it reflects what we want the festival to be: somewhere people discuss the future of technology and somewhere new ideas and solutions take shape.
New masterclasses. Masterclasses move beyond high-level discussion into specific technologies, challenges and practical solutions. Each is a 60-minute session for a maximum of 30 people, led by one to three specialists, and you book your place in the event app. They run in two dedicated rooms: one on the expo floor for data centres, connectivity and telcos, and one in the Nerina Room for AI, digital transformation, cyber and start-ups.
Forums, summits and meet-ups. Beyond the main stages, we’ve created more room for focused discussion and real connection. The Infrastructure Investment Forum brings investors and industry leaders together around the future of Africa’s digital infrastructure. The Connected Industries Forum looks at how connectivity is changing industrial operations. Women in Tech creates space for leadership, mentorship and career development. New ATF Community Meet-ups bring together professionals from banking, cybersecurity, fintech, data centres and connectivity for more informal, targeted networking.
Curated formats. Roundtables bring operators, partners and investors into smaller rooms. MTN MoMo sponsors a fintech private briefing. Qualcomm’s Pitch Showcase and the Next Gen Talent track, backed by Naspers Labs, give founders and early-career talent a place in the programme alongside the CEOs.

The people on stage

With more than 400 speakers, I can’t credit them all. The six names below start to show the range on site.

Solly Malatsi, South Africa’s minister of communications & digital technologies, joins ministers from Ghana and Botswana, so policy sits in the same rooms as the businesses it affects. Charles Molapisi, group chief technology & information officer at MTN Group, brings the operator’s view of the network. Wole Abu, MD for West Africa at Equinix, speaks for the data centres that carry it. Emmanuel Lubanzadio, Africa lead at OpenAI, and Kerissa Varma, chief security advisor for Africa at Microsoft, cover AI and the security that has to come with it. Mohammed Merej Khan, group chief technology & information officer at Ecobank Group, speaks for the enterprises putting all of it to work.

Three conversations I’m looking forward to:

Beyond Adoption: What Will Make Africa an AI Producer, Not Just a Consumer? (Headline Keynotes, Tuesday 17 November, 11.05am-11.40am). Carrol Chang, CEO of Andela, and Jade Abbott, co-founder of Lelapa AI, take on a question I think matters more than any other in AI right now. We’ve spent a lot of time on how Africa can adopt AI. The harder question is what it takes for the continent to build its own capabilities, technologies and competitive advantage, and I want to hear how we move from using AI to creating it.
Investor Spotlight: Mapping Out the Future of AI Infrastructure Investment. Investors from British International Investment, IFC, Verdant Capital and African Infrastructure Investment Managers discuss what it will take to finance Africa’s growing AI and data centre needs. We can talk about Africa’s AI ambitions, but without the infrastructure and investment behind them they will be hard to realise. I’m keen to hear where investors see the biggest opportunities and what has to change to unlock investment at scale.
Reinventing the Telco: AI, New Business Models and Growth. Senior leaders from MTN, Vodacom, BTC and MTC explore how operators are rethinking their businesses in the age of AI. Connectivity remains fundamental to Africa’s digital economy, but the opportunity now goes further. I want to hear how these leaders are using AI to improve operations, develop new services and grow sustainably.

Beyond the stages

Africa Tech Festival has always been about more than what happens on stage. Some of the most valuable conversations happen when people connect beyond the formal programme.

Our most anticipated event is Afest, the opening party on the first night: a vibrant music festival right on the beachfront, and the best networking event you’ll attend all year. We also host our third annual Ministerial Summit and the invitation-only Leaders In Africa Summit, which bring government and industry into closed-door discussions. Community meet-ups run throughout, and we celebrate the best and brightest at our Awards evening on the Wednesday.

We’ve built this year’s event to reflect how interconnected Africa’s digital economy has become, so the programme feels like one conversation. I’m looking forward to seeing it come together in Cape Town.