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In 2025, Africa’s technology landscape expanded significantly, showcasing a vibrant and evolving ecosystem. Established conferences returned with renewed vigor, while emerging events created dedicated spaces for in-depth discussions on artificial intelligence (AI), data governance, policy frameworks, and startup acceleration.
From government-led forums unveiling national digital blueprints to grassroots developer meetups experimenting with cutting-edge tools, the continent’s tech dialogue seamlessly spanned policy debates, investor pitch arenas, and collaborative workshops. Key cities such as Marrakech, Lagos, Algiers, Kigali, and Cape Town emerged as focal points for events that both reflected and shaped Africa’s technological trajectory.
Top Technology Gatherings Across Africa in 2025
1. Africa Tech Summit Nairobi (Kenya, February 12-13)
The seventh edition of the Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi attracted over 2,000 industry leaders at the Sarit Expo Centre. The event was structured around four core themes: Africa Money & DeFi, Climate Tech & Investment, Startup Innovation, and Mobile & App Development.
With approximately 80 exhibitors and 65 speakers, the summit fostered dynamic interactions among mobile network operators, cryptocurrency innovators, investors scouting emerging ventures, and regulators engaging with tech pioneers. The Investment Showcase was a highlight, featuring fireside chats and masterclasses that catalyzed deal-making and knowledge exchange.
2. Lagos Tech Fest (Nigeria, February 19-20)
Celebrating its fifth year, Lagos Tech Fest convened over 2,000 participants across venues like Four Points by Sheraton and Landmark Event Centre. Sponsored by Mastercard, the festival combined a welcome reception, Nigeria’s Tech Leadership Roundtable, and a comprehensive conference program spotlighting fintech, venture capital, crypto, DeFi, payments, e-commerce, and digital infrastructure opportunities.
3. GITEX Africa (Morocco, April 14-16)
The third GITEX Africa in Marrakech, themed “Accelerating Africa’s Digital Transformation,” attracted over 45,000 attendees from 130+ countries. Around 1,400 exhibitors showcased innovations spanning AI, cloud services, fintech, cybersecurity, smart city solutions, healthtech, agritech, and connectivity advancements.
4. Africa AI Festival (Nigeria, May 31)
Africa AI Festival gathered more than 5,000 participants from over 20 countries under the theme “AI for Africa: Scaling Innovation and Inclusion.” The event featured 50+ speakers and startups demonstrating AI applications in healthcare, finance, education, and enterprise sectors.
Discussions addressed ethical AI, data infrastructure, and investment strategies tailored to Africa’s unique context. Interactive workshops and networking sessions enabled startups to connect with investors, with dedicated Founder Showcases and Investor Lounges facilitating deal flow.
5. Kids Tech Fest 2025 (Nigeria, June 14)
Africa’s inaugural large-scale AI summit for children and families took place at Lagos’s Landmark Event Centre, attracting over 5,000 attendees. Organized by Digital Equity Africa, the event introduced young learners to AI through interactive workshops and family-oriented sessions.
Topics included AI fundamentals, ethical considerations, digital safety, and responsible technology use. Separate tracks for parents and educators focused on fostering AI literacy and safe digital navigation for children. The summit also launched two educational initiatives: Bud AI, a child-friendly AI companion with parental controls, and Future Minds Online, an AI learning community for ages 6-16.
6. AI Summit for Africa (Zimbabwe, August 17-20)
The AI Summit for Africa convened in Victoria Falls under the theme “AI-Powered Transformation: Unlocking New Frontiers for Sustainable Socio-Economic Growth.” The event united tech leaders, policymakers, academics, and industry experts to explore AI’s role in healthcare, education, agriculture, and finance.
Zimbabwe’s government used the platform to present its National AI Strategy (2026-2030), emphasizing digital skills development, expanded connectivity, and responsible AI adoption.
7. GITEX Nigeria (Abuja & Lagos, September 1-4)
Making its debut in Nigeria, GITEX themed “Forging the Rise of Digital Nigeria” spanned Abuja and Lagos. The opening day in Abuja focused on the Government Leadership & AI Summit, discussing digital infrastructure, responsible AI in public services, and talent upskilling.
In Lagos, the Tech Expo & Future Economy Conference attracted over 3,000 professionals and 100+ exhibitors, spotlighting AI, fintech, cybersecurity, and IoT innovations shaping West Africa. Executive sessions covered enterprise digital transformation, cybersecurity strategies, and future network technologies, while investment panels explored funding models, diaspora engagement, and building African unicorns.
Simultaneously, the GITEX Nigeria Startup Festival showcased 1,000+ startups and 300+ investors, featuring pitch competitions, matchmaking, and the Supernova Challenge to boost founder visibility and funding opportunities.
8. Seamless Africa (South Africa, September 8-9)
Hosted at Johannesburg’s Sandton Convention Centre, Seamless Africa focused on digital commerce, financial services, banking, retail, and e-commerce across the continent. The event drew nearly 6,000 participants, fostering discussions on innovations transforming Africa’s commercial landscape.
9. Africa FinTech Summit (Ghana, October 8-10)
Held at Accra’s Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, the Africa FinTech Summit united investors, entrepreneurs, innovators, and regulators to shape the continent’s financial services future. Topics included cross-border payments, Web3 and blockchain, mobile money expansion, and investment trends in African fintech.
10. AgentCon Accra (Ghana, October 9)
AgentCon Accra 2025, themed “Agents of Change: Building Ghana’s Intelligent Future,” provided a developer-centric forum on autonomous AI agents. As part of the global AgentCon 2025 World Tour, the event gathered engineers, researchers, and creators to discuss designing, deploying, and scaling autonomous software capable of independent task execution.
Workshops covered agentic workflows, real-world AI agent integration, open-source frameworks, and tools for building intelligent assistants and autonomous services.
11. Moonshot by TechCabal (Nigeria, October 15-16)
The third Moonshot by TechCabal at Lagos’s Eko Convention Centre attracted over 4,000 founders, investors, creatives, and policymakers from 15+ countries. The two-day event, themed “Building Momentum,” combined summit structure with festival energy, featuring 140+ speakers across nine tracks including AI, climate tech, and the creative economy.
Participants engaged in workshops, hands-on sessions, and fireside chats focused on startup scaling, investment attraction, and leveraging technology for impact. Deal rooms buzzed with investor-founder interactions, while curated sessions highlighted emerging trends and innovative African solutions.
12. DataFest Africa (Nigeria, October 18)
DataFest Africa 2025, themed “AI in Africa: Solving Today’s Problems, Building Tomorrow’s Systems,” convened over 4,000 attendees, 50 speakers, and 30+ sponsors in Lagos. The one-day festival emphasized practical AI and data science applications addressing finance, healthcare, agriculture, and governance challenges.
Workshops explored agent-based systems, AI for social good, data governance, and ethical AI. The event spotlighted initiatives like the Nigeria AI Collective, which develops national AI repositories, curated datasets, and research platforms. Attendees participated in hackathons, product demos, and hands-on sessions to translate AI potential into scalable solutions.
13. Mobile World Congress Kigali (Rwanda, October 21-23)
The third Mobile World Congress Kigali at the Kigali Convention Centre gathered over 3,000 delegates from 109 countries, including government officials, telecom executives, regulators, and tech leaders. The event’s theme, “Converge, Connect, Create,” emphasized connectivity, policy, and emerging technologies as pillars of Africa’s digital growth.
Programming focused on four pillars: Connected Continent (broadband rollout, spectrum policy, infrastructure financing), AI Future (responsible AI, data readiness, African language models), Fintech (mobile money, digital payments, regulatory alignment), and Africa’s Digital Frontier (technology in public services, health, education, entertainment).
14. Blockchain Africa Conference (South Africa, October 22)
The 11th Blockchain Africa Conference in Johannesburg, themed “Ready for Business,” attracted around 270 attendees from 10 countries and featured 27 speakers. The one-day event concentrated on blockchain and digital asset applications across African markets.
Sessions covered finance, digital banking, enterprise adoption, tokenization, and regulatory frameworks. Panels discussed stablecoin adoption, institutional digital asset infrastructure, and operational challenges, providing actionable insights for businesses, regulators, and developers.
15. Africa Tech Festival (South Africa, November 11-13)
The 28th Africa Tech Festival transformed Cape Town into a continental tech hub, drawing 15,000 attendees, 450 speakers, and 300+ exhibitors to the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The festival integrated four major events: AfricaCom (telecoms and connectivity), AfricaTech (enterprise innovation), AfricaIgnite (startups), and The AI Summit Cape Town (commercial AI applications).
16. Cairo ICT (Egypt, November 16-19)
The 29th Cairo ICT event at the Egypt International Exhibition Centre in New Cairo attracted over 160,000 participants from Africa, the Middle East, and beyond. The four-day summit, themed “AI Everywhere,” featured 500+ exhibitors and 96 panel discussions with 491 speakers.
Tracks included PAFIX (digital payments and financial inclusion), AIDC (AI, data centers, cloud computing), Connecta (youth and entertainment tech), Innovation Arena (creative solutions), and Cyber Zone (cybersecurity). Sessions covered AI applications, cybersecurity, 5G, digital identity, cloud infrastructure, and digital education initiatives.
17. African Startup Conference (Algeria, December 6-8)
The fourth African Startup Conference in Algiers gathered over 25,000 participants from across Africa and beyond. Under the theme “Raising African Champions,” the three-day event united entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and ecosystem builders to discuss scaling startups, global competitiveness, and economic impact.
Organized by Algeria’s Ministry of Knowledge Economy and supported by Algeria Venture, the conference featured 200+ exhibitors, 150 investors, and 300+ international experts showcasing fintech, AI, climate tech, creative industries, and enterprise solutions. The event concluded with the Algiers Declaration, committing to fair, secure, and responsible digital platforms across Africa.
18. Google DevFest (Nigeria, November 18-22)
Google DevFest Lagos is an annual developer conference organized by Google Developer Groups worldwide. The 2025 edition featured 100+ speakers and tech professionals across career stages. The first day was dedicated to students and aspiring professionals, with subsequent days focusing on AI & cloud, Web3, design, and more.
Each day concluded with networking sessions, fostering community building among tech enthusiasts.
19. Tech in Ghana (Ghana, December 4-5)
Tech in Ghana, a UK-Ghana platform, held its annual conference in Kumasi at the Jubilee Hall, Manhyia Palace. The two-day event aimed to empower Ghanaian tech talent to make a global impact.
The unique “Royal” edition, hosted at His Royal Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s Jubilee Hall, explored how traditional sectors like manufacturing, education, and agriculture are integrating advanced technologies.
20. AfricArena Grand Summit (South Africa, December 2-3)
Concluding a year-long global tour, the AfricArena Grand Summit took place at Cape Town International Convention Centre. Following five hybrid regional events that served as semi-finals, the summit showcased over 50 startups pitching across seed to growth stages.
Participants gained insights from leading figures shaping Africa’s tech and investment ecosystems, highlighting the continent’s innovation potential and investment opportunities.
