The 28th edition of the Africa Tech Festival kicked off yesterday in Cape Town, South Africa, and opened with a powerful message of unity, a call for responsible, inclusive, and people-centred innovation to drive the continent’s digital future with Africa leaders, global tech firms, and the startup ecosystem stressing that Africa’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 artificial intelligence (AI).
Reinforcing the government’s focus on equitable digital transformation, Hon. 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 Hon. Malatsi’s call for inclusive digital development, Cassava Technologies announced that it is now Africa’s first NVIDIA Cloud Partner, deploying NVIDIA GPUs across five sites to power the continent’s AI 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 AI tools and solutions designed for African industries.
See also: Cassava adopts NVIDIA supercomputers to advance Africa’s AI with data centre upgrades
Speaking on the AfricaTech main stage, this vision was echoed by Hon. Mondli Gungubele, South Africa’s 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. He used the country’s national AI policy as an example of a governance blueprint to ensure that innovation in artificial intelligence is safe, inclusive, and transformative.
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,” she stated. “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 Africa Tech Festival showcases the strength of Africa’s growing digital ecosystem across four flagship programmes: AfricaCom, AfricaTech, The AI Summit Cape Town, and AfricaIgnite.
See also: Who will win at the 2025 Digital Impact Awards Africa?
