Africa’s technology leaders opened the 28^th annual Africa Tech Festival 2025 (https://AfricaTechFestival.com/) in Cape Town with a powerful message of unity, calling for responsible, inclusive, and people-centred innovation to drive the continent’s digital future.

Leaders from government, global tech firms, and the startup ecosystem stressed that the continent’s digital future must be built on ethical governance, inclusive access, and meaningful social impact. The opening day saw strong alignment among key stakeholders, including South Africa’s Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Hon. Solly Malatsi, Deputy Minister, Hon. Mondli Gungubele, and representatives from Cassava Technologies, OpenAI, and Meta, who pledged to champion a collaborative digital transformation that ensures no African country is left behind in the age of AI.

Reinforcing the government’s focus on equitable digital transformation, Minister Malatsi called for coordinated action to harness technology for social impact. He reiterated that for South Africa to benefit from and participate in the next wave of innovation, particularly AI, three foundations are essential: affordable connectivity and devices, reliable digital public infrastructure, and digital literacy. When these foundations are strong, everything else accelerates.

Building on the Minister’s call for inclusive digital development, Cassava Technologies announced that it is now Africa's first NVIDIA Cloud Partner (NCP), deploying NVIDIA GPUs across five sites to power the continent's Al innovation. Emphasising that Africa will not be left behind in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Strive Masiyiwa, Founder and Executive Chairman of Cassava Technologies, shared how strategic partnerships with Google, Anthropic, and others are enabling access to world-class Al tools and solutions designed for African industries,  

Speaking on the AfricaTech main stage, this vision was echoed by Hon. Mondli Gungubele, Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies. In his address Building Digital Nations – Governance for a Tech-Driven Africa, he championed the use of digital systems to build transparent, citizen-centric governments, noting that Africa is not waiting to be connected, but building its own digital future that is sovereign, interoperable, and human centred. The country’s national AI policy was used as an example of a governance blueprint to ensure that innovation in artificial intelligence is safe, inclusive, and transformative.

On the AI Summit Cape Town stage, Emmanuel Lubanzadio, Africa Lead at OpenAI, joined Akim Benamara, Chief Editor & Founder of TechAfrica News, and Thabo Makenete, Head of Public Policy for Southern Africa at Meta, in a session titled OpenAI for an Open Africa, exploring open-source innovation, language diversity, and equitable AI access.

The AI Summit programme also included a session titled Unlocking Agentic AI – The Next Leap in African Innovation, Moderated by Dr. Santiago Erroz Ferrer (Lufthansa Group), panellists Katarzyna Hewelt (Resolutiion), Abdul Kader Baba (Infrastructure South Africa), and Ravi Bhat (Microsoft Africa) examined how autonomous AI systems can transform industries and service delivery while upholding ethical design principles.

Reflecting on the opening day, Kadi Diallo, Portfolio Manager for Africa Tech Festival, said, “Africa Tech Festival has always been more than an event. It’s a movement that celebrates Africa’s ingenuity and ambition to lead in the digital age. This year’s edition is about ensuring that innovation is responsible, inclusive, and anchored in real-world impact. From AI and cloud to connectivity and policy, the conversations taking place here in Cape Town this week reflect a continent that is not only participating in the global digital economy but shaping it on its own terms. We’re proud to provide a platform for the continent’s tech visionaries, investors, and policymakers.”

Framed by the central themes of responsible innovation, inclusive investment, connectivity for development, and policy harmonisation, the festival showcases the strength of Africa’s growing digital ecosystem across four flagship programmes: AfricaCom, AfricaTech, The AI Summit Cape Town, and AfricaIgnite.

The official event was preceded by AfricaIgnite Founder Day on Monday, 10 November, a showcase of African innovation that drew entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and founders, setting the tone for the rest of the week.

The day concluded with AFest at Grand Africa Café & Beach, where delegates, founders, investors, and policymakers gathered for an evening of live music and networking.