AI is cool is cool i guess
Another round of polished speeches about how “Africa is the future of technology.” I think to myself, I’ve heard this script before—at IFF2025 in February and again at the Global AI Summit on Africa just last week.
But as I sat through both events, a familiar unease settled over me. The rooms were packed with big names and bigger promises, yet something essential was missing.
HIGH ON VISION, LOW ON EXECUTION
IFF2025 showcased impressive fintech innovations, with ministers touting regulatory sandboxes and global tech representatives unveiling their “Africa strategies.” The Global AI Summit followed a similar pattern—elegant panels discussing Africa’s potential as an AI powerhouse, complete with statistics about our young population and growing tech adoption.
But at both events, I found myself asking the same questions:
- Where are the builders who are shaping Africa’s tech future today?
- Where are the investors ready to write checks, not just promises?
- Where are the tangible outcomes that transform lives beyond the conference walls?
At the AI Summit, I watched a small group of startups demonstrating genuinely innovative solutions—an AI-powered healthcare diagnostic tool from a Kenyan team and a Nigerian natural language processing platform optimized for African languages. Their demos were relegated to a side room, barely noticed as attendees networked over coffee.
I approached three of these founders afterward. Each told me the same story: they came hoping to meet investors and potential clients. They left with business cards and vague promises to “keep in touch.”
THE DECADE-LONG PROMISE: ARE WE MOVING FORWARD?
This rhetoric has been recycled for over a decade now. I remember attending my first “Africa Rising” tech conference in 2015. The speeches haven’t changed much, but our patience should have.
During a panel at IFF2025, I heard a European VC claim that “Africa is the next frontier for fintech innovation.” Yet when asked about their actual investments on the continent, they mentioned a single seed round from three years ago.
The hard truth is that inspiration without activation is just noise.
We need to ask more pointed questions:
- 🔍 Where is the detailed roadmap turning these visions into reality?
- 📊 What measurable results have we achieved since last year’s identical speeches?
- 🏭 What are we actually producing that solves uniquely African challenges?
- 🌍 Which African AI or fintech companies are scaling beyond borders and making global impact?
A PERSONAL OBSERVATION
During the AI Summit, I moderated a breakout session with several African entrepreneurs. Off the main stage and away from the cameras, their frustrations poured out:
“We don’t need another explanation of what AI can do for Africa. We need introductions to clients who will pay for our solutions,” said a founder from Ghana.
Another from Rwanda added, “These summits spend more on catering than the combined funding many local AI startups received last year.”
This disconnect was even more apparent at IFF2025. While panels discussed financial inclusion, I spoke with fintech founders who couldn’t secure meetings with the very banks and telcos sponsoring the event.
SHIFTING THE MODEL TO SOLUTIONS
If we truly want to build thriving tech ecosystems across Africa, we need to fundamentally rethink these events:
- ❌ Fewer inspirational speeches about potential
- ✅ More trade-focused exhibitions where business happens
- ❌ Less talking about investment opportunities
- ✅ More actual investment commitments with public accountability
- ❌ Fewer panels about partnership
- ✅ More structured matchmaking between corporations and startups
At Global AI Pre-event at Marriott (AI Research Colloquium Event) I witnessed how a small side event—organized by Qhala—resulted in more concrete partnerships than the main program. Startups learned a lot about what was being done as research and could discuss with fellow researchers about different works. All because they focused on transactions, not only talk.
MY PROPOSAL FOR MEANINGFUL CHANGE
Based on my observations at both summits, here’s what future tech events in Africa should prioritize:
- 50/50 Rule: For every hour of panels and speeches, allocate equal time for structured business development activities.
- Investor Accountability: Require VCs and investors speaking at events to disclose their actual investment history in African startups.
- Success Metrics: Publicly track and report business outcomes from each event—deals closed, investments made, partnerships formed.
- Builder-First Design: Involve actual founders in designing the agenda, not just as token speakers or panelists.
- Regional Focus: Create specialized tracks addressing the unique challenges and opportunities in different African markets rather than treating the continent as a monolith.
THE FUTURE WE DESERVE: BUILDING
The future of technology in Africa—whether in fintech, AI, or beyond—won’t materialize through eloquent speeches or perfectly crafted slide decks.
It will be built in code, in contracts, and in collaboration between those who understand the real challenges and opportunities on the ground.
After attending both IFF2025 and the Global AI Summit, I’m more convinced than ever that we need to evolve beyond the “Africa is the future” narrative and start building that future today—one transaction, one investment, and one genuine partnership at a time.
The question isn’t whether Africa has potential. We know it does. The question is whether we’re willing to transform these high-profile summits from showcases of what could be into engines of what will be.
Let’s build events that connect, fund, and scale. Let’s demand more than applause lines and photo opportunities. Let’s create spaces where African innovation doesn’t just get discussed—it gets resourced, supported, and propelled forward.
Because inspiration without implementation isn’t just a missed opportunity—it’s a broken promise to the next generation of African innovators.
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