The 11th AfriLabs Annual Gathering (AAG2026) will take place from 18 to 20 November 2026 at the Sofitel Cotonou Marina Hotel and Spa in Cotonou, Benin, bringing together more than 1,200 innovation hub leaders, founders, investors, policymakers, researchers and development partners from over 70 countries.
Hosted by the Republic of Benin through the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Innovation, with the endorsement of the Presidency of the Republic of Benin, AAG2026 marks an important milestone as the Gathering comes to Francophone Africa for the first time.
Over the past ten editions, the Gathering has travelled across nine countries, from Ghana in 2016 to Kenya in 2025. This year, Cotonou provides an important meeting point for the diverse African innovation communities to engage, exchange ideas and build stronger connections across linguistic and geographic boundaries.
With digital transformation and innovation positioned high on Benin’s national agenda, the country provides a strong setting for this first Francophone edition.
That ambition is reflected in this year’s theme, “Africa’s Innovation Era: Building Sustainable Institutions for Global Influence and Continental Impact.”
Africa has demonstrated its ability to build innovative companies, nurture ambitious founders and develop locally relevant solutions. The next challenge is ensuring that the institutions around them, including innovation hubs, investment vehicles, digital infrastructure, markets and policy frameworks, are strong enough to sustain that momentum and strengthen Africa’s influence in the global innovation economy.
The AAG2026 programme takes up that challenge across seven tracks: Investor and Investment; Policy, Data and AI; Green and Blue Economy; Hub Solution; Creative Digital Economy; Trade and Industry; and Makerspaces.
Together, the tracks address some of the most important questions facing Africa’s innovation ecosystem today, from mobilising patient capital and advancing responsible AI governance to building sustainable innovation hubs, expanding local manufacturing, strengthening creative industries, advancing climate resilience and unlocking cross-border trade.
Across the three days, delegates will participate in keynote addresses, high-level panels, masterclasses, exhibitions and networking sessions, with programming delivered in both French and English.
The programme will bring together voices from government, investment, technology, research, entrepreneurship and the wider innovation ecosystem to examine the policies, institutions and partnerships needed to support Africa’s next phase of growth.
Discussions will explore issues including digital sovereignty, responsible artificial intelligence, access to capital, innovation policy, sustainable hub models, cross-border expansion and the role of stronger institutions in helping African ventures scale.
Founders, hub leaders, investors, policymakers and ecosystem builders will also share practical lessons from their work across the continent, creating space for both high-level debate and grounded examples of what is working in different markets.
“Ten Gatherings have taught us that Africa does not lack good ideas. What determines whether those ideas endure is the strength of the institutions around them,” said Jennifer Okeke-Ojiudu, Senior Ecosystem Engagement at AfriLabs.
“In Cotonou, we want every track to lead to something people can build on, whether that is a policy, a partnership, an investment mechanism or a sustainable hub model. Holding our first Francophone edition in Benin also gives us an important opportunity to connect ecosystems that should be working more closely together.”
“Digital transformation cannot be decreed: it must be prepared. Benin committed its institutions and talents to it long before waiting for the results, and hosting the AfriLabs Annual Gathering in Cotonou confirms this course. We say it bluntly: Africa needs entrepreneurs to invent its innovative solutions, it needs states that create the conditions.” Mahuna Akplogan, Minister of Digital Transformation and Innovation.
AAG2026 is open to founders, innovation hub leaders, investors, policymakers, development partners, corporate innovators, researchers, creatives and other stakeholders shaping Africa’s innovation economy.
AAG2026 will convene stakeholders working to build, finance, regulate and strengthen Africa’s innovation ecosystem, placing Cotonou at the centre of the continent’s innovation conversation this November.