The Africa Information and Communication Technologies Alliance (AfICTA) is pleased to announce its 13th AfICTA Summit, which will hold virtually from November 11th to 13th, 2025. This year’s Summit will focus on the theme “Accelerating Africa's Digital Future: Innovation, Inclusion, and Economic Growth.”
Since its inception, the AfICTA Summit has grown into a premier platform that brings together stakeholders from across Africa and beyond to discuss critical issues shaping the continent’s digital landscape. The inaugural edition was held in Lagos in 2013, followed by Cairo in 2014, Johannesburg in 2015, Windhoek in 2016, and Abuja in 2017. Subsequent editions were hosted in Nairobi in 2018, Abuja again in 2019, while the Secretariat hosted the eighth to twelfth editions virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Africa’s digital future holds immense potential for driving economic growth, fostering innovation, and promoting social inclusion. By harnessing the power of digital technologies, African countries can leapfrog traditional development pathways, enhance competitiveness, and create new opportunities in entrepreneurship, education, agriculture, healthcare, and financial inclusion. Digital innovation can also help bridge the gap between rural and urban areas, ensuring that the benefits of the digital agenda are shared more equitably across the continent,” said Ms. Ulandi Exner, Chair of AfICTA.
To realize this vision, it is crucial to empower underserved and underrepresented communities, including youth, women, and persons with disabilities, through targeted digital literacy initiatives, inclusive policy design, and grassroots engagement. With Africa’s youthful population being one of its greatest assets, equipping them with digital tools for innovation, entrepreneurship, and civic participation will ensure the sustainability and inclusiveness of Africa’s digital transformation.
This year’s Summit will place special emphasis on inclusive growth, ensuring that Africa’s digital economy works for everyone especially women, youth, and marginalized communities. It will examine critical areas such as digital infrastructure for a connected Africa, emerging technologies and artificial intelligence for development, cybersecurity and digital trust, digital literacy and lifelong learning, policy harmonization for robust digital governance, and entrepreneurship through skills and innovation. It will also highlight the importance of multi-stakeholder cooperation as a key driver of digital growth across the continent.
The expected outcomes of the Summit include the identification of strategies for improving digital infrastructure through multi-stakeholder cooperation; the development of frameworks to harness emerging technologies for sustainable development; the establishment of best practices for cybersecurity and data protection; and the advancement of digital literacy and gender equity to bridge the divide between rural and urban areas. The Summit will also focus on policy recommendations for harmonized digital governance, strategies to support startups and entrepreneurs, and the strengthening of partnerships among governments, the private sector, civil society, and other key stakeholders to facilitate digital growth and development in Africa.
The AfICTA Summit provides a unique platform for policymakers, industry leaders, academia, civil society, and innovators to shape the future of Africa’s digital transformation. Interested participants are encouraged to visit https://aficta.africa/summits/summit-2025 for more information on participation.
About AfICTA
The Africa Information and Communication Technologies Alliance (AfICTA) is a private sector-led alliance of ICT organizations, companies, associations, and individuals committed to advancing the development of ICTs in Africa through advocacy, collaboration, and capacity building.
