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Afritech Business Summit was created to help Sub-Saharan Africa become a major player in cloud-native, AI-first, and innovation-driven economies. The idea began in New York City, where our founder Noel K. Tshiani saw the immense potential of African entrepreneurs, innovators creating solutions to solve local challenges, yet often without access to the networks, capital, and partnerships needed to scale.
The vision was shaped through more than a decade of experience in New York City, the world’s leading financial center and the second-largest innovation ecosystem globally, home to nearly 25,000 startups across diverse sectors. Observing how cities like New York and San Francisco built thriving startup ecosystems where startup founders benefit from smart public policy, strong collaboration with major companies, and deep access to institutional investors, he recognized that these best practices could be adapted for Sub-Saharan Africa.
But he also observed a major gap: while African startups were innovating, they lacked the ecosystems that turn good ideas into global successes. Afritech Business Summit brings together innovators, investors, and policymakers to build the networks and resources needed for startups to scale and compete worldwide.
The upcoming edition will be held at the Sofitel Hôtel Ivoire in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on March 22–25, 2027. Four days of programming will bring together 2,500 participants, 120 qualified exhibitors, 50 investors and venture capital firms, and 15 accredited media outlets, with delegations from four continents, including entrepreneurs, thought leaders, corporations, and public institutions from Africa and beyond.
The summit is built around ten priority sectors, organized in three tiers. Foundational technologies, cloud, AI, and cybersecurity, are the core enablers powering all digital innovation. Economic impact sectors, fintech, insurtech, and e-commerce, drive growth, inclusion, and market expansion. Societal and public impact sectors, edtech, medtech, agritech, and govtech, transform lives, communities, and public services.
Abidjan was chosen for three reasons: macroeconomic stability, with 7% average GDP growth over the past decade and a CFA franc pegged to the euro; legal certainty, through the harmonized OHADA framework protecting investors and ensuring the enforceability of contracts at the regional level; and political will, with a digital reform agenda led by the Ivorian government and its Ministry of Digital Transition and Technological Innovation.