Experts and technology industry leaders are expected to examine Africa’s growing need for artificial intelligence infrastructure, local computing capacity and stronger digital connectivity at the 29th Africa Tech Festival scheduled for Cape Town, South Africa, in November.
The festival, which will hold from November 16 to 19 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, is expected to bring together government officials, technology companies, telecommunications operators, infrastructure providers, startups, investors and enterprise leaders to discuss the issues shaping the continent’s digital economy.
A major focus of the event will be Africa’s ability to move beyond adopting artificial intelligence technologies to developing the infrastructure and capabilities required to produce AI solutions locally.
One of the sessions, titled “Beyond Adoption: What Will Make Africa an AI Producer, Not Just a Consumer?”, will examine the requirements for developing globally competitive AI capabilities on the continent, including access to computing infrastructure, data, skills and investment.
Discussions will also centre on the emergence of agentic AI in enterprise decision-making and how businesses should allocate investments between AI, cloud infrastructure, data platforms and core technology systems as they modernise their operations.
The growing demand for AI is expected to bring renewed attention to Africa’s data centre and cloud infrastructure market, with another session, “The Next Wave of AI Infrastructure Growth”, set to examine where new computing capacity should be developed and the role of hyperscaler partnerships in supporting the continent’s digital expansion.
The discussions will also consider the growing importance of localised computing infrastructure as businesses and governments face increasing requirements around data sovereignty, performance and cost.
According to the organisers, investment decisions around digital infrastructure are increasingly being shaped by factors such as power availability, the presence of hyperscale cloud providers and the ability of African markets to support new data centre capacity.
David Monaghan, vice president, Africa Tech Festival, said the questions confronting Africa’s digital economy were becoming increasingly interconnected, requiring greater attention to the decisions and partnerships needed to support sustainable growth.
“The questions facing Africa’s digital economy are becoming more interlinked, more complex and more urgent. It’s no longer simply about whether businesses will adopt AI, move to the cloud or invest in new infrastructure, but about how those decisions are made, who benefits from them and what needs to be in place for them to deliver sustainable growth,” Monaghan said.
Beyond AI and cloud infrastructure, the festival will also examine the continent’s connectivity needs, with discussions expected to cover fibre investment, 4G and 5G deployment and the use of satellite technology to extend connectivity to underserved communities.
The programme is also expected to address cybersecurity as digital services, cloud adoption and AI deployment expand across African markets.
The organisers said the discussions would reflect a shift in Africa’s digital economy towards questions of practical capacity, including access to computing infrastructure, capital, technical skills, reliable connectivity and partnerships.
