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The Transform Africa Summit (TAS) 2025 is set to take place from 22–24 July 2025 at the Kigali Convention Centre in Rwanda. Under the theme “AI for Africa: Innovate Locally, Impact Globally,” this premier event will bring together Heads of State, policymakers, industry leaders, investors, and innovators to drive Africa’s digital transformation agenda.
Organised by Smart Africa, this premier event will serve as a catalyst for discussions on topical issues.
With registration now open, the summit promises to be a landmark gathering, fostering collaboration, innovation, and strategic partnerships to position Africa as a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies.
By Gamuchirai Mapako
The Transform Africa Summit is Africa’s foremost annual forum on digital transformation, attracting global leaders, tech giants, start-ups, and development partners. Since its inception, the summit has played a pivotal role in accelerating Africa’s digital economy, promoting smart cities, fintech, AI, and blockchain solutions tailored to the continent’s needs.
The 2025 edition will build on the success of previous summits, including TAS2019 that also took place in Kigali, which drew 5,660 delegates from 107 countries, including three African presidents, 22 ministers, and global tech innovators. A key highlight was Sophia, the humanoid robot, which captivated attendees and showcased the potential of AI in Africa. The summit is designed to attract a wide range of participants, including Heads of State and Government, First Ladies, Ministers, regulators, mayors and governors, private and public sector representatives, international organisations, industry leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, young innovators, civil society, and academia.
TAS 2025 is structured around three dynamic hubs, each addressing critical pillars of Africa’s digital transformation, the first one being the Connect Hub: Powering Africa’s AI Ambitions with Next-Gen Infrastructure
AI’s potential in Africa hinges on robust digital infrastructure and the Connect Hub will spotlight cloud computing, 5G networks, and energy-efficient data centres, investment roundtable linking projects with funding partners, policy labs to shape AI-friendly regulatory frameworks and live demos of cutting-edge infrastructure solutions.
“AI cannot thrive in a vacuum. It needs scalable, secure, and affordable infrastructure to unlock Africa’s potential,” emphasised Smart Africa on their official page.
The second hub is the Innovate Hub: fuelling Africa’s AI Revolution.
Homegrown innovation takes centre stage in the this hub featuring talent and skills marketplace
This hub underscores Africa’s burgeoning tech ecosystem, where start-ups like those in healthtech, agritech, and fintech leverage AI to solve local challenges with solutions uniquely designed for the continent.
Transform Hub: Shaping Africa’s Future Through Data, Ethics & Inclusive AI Governance
at TAS 2025 is a collaborative think space where bold ideas and frameworks come together to shape the ethical, secure, and inclusive governance of AI and data across Africa.
This hub will convene several high-level events, including the regional policy dialogues on interoperability and data exchange, and technical working sessions on policy harmonisation in digital public services.
There will also be the AI and the Creative Economy hub: Transforming Sports, Art, Music, and Storytelling in Africa
This aims to explore the transformative impact of AI on Africa’s creative economy, including music, film, fashion, digital art, and storytelling. It will highlight how AI-driven tools are enhancing artistic expression, enabling new business models, and preserving African culture through digital innovation.
Attendees can engage with interactive installations, from virtual reality storytelling to AI-powered music remixing.
Registration is encouraged as high-level networking with global leaders is guaranteed.
The summit will host Heads of State and Government, First Ladies advocating for digital inclusion, Ministers of ICT, Finance, Trade, and Health and CEOs of multinational tech firms
Investors and venture capitalists
Delegates will also explore AI applications in healthcare, agriculture, and governance
blockchain for financial inclusion , 5G and IoT advancements start-up pitch competitions.
The summit will also include a dedicated “Future Zone” which will feature youth-led tech showcases women in STEM discussions and digital skills workshops.
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