MIT SLOAN AFRICA BUSINESS CLUB

Presents

Africa
Innovate
Conference
2026
AFRICAN INTELLIGENCE:
Building Systems for Shared Prosperity

MIT Wong Auditorium
Tang Center 2 Amherst
St, Cambridge, MA 02142
Feb 28 2026

Join us for a landmark edition of MIT’s premier Africa-focused conference, bringing together 15 years of transformative innovation, partnership, and African-led solutions shaping our collective future.

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The Africa Business Club (ABC) is a student-led club at MIT Sloan

We are fostering an environment in which club members are actively participating in various educational, cultural, and professional activities centered around Africa, and where African students and allies have the necessary exposure, resources and support to drive change on the continent.

Each year, we host the renowned MIT Sloan Africa Innovate Conference, and provide career/networking opportunities as well as academic support for our members.

Want to learn more about the club or have any questions? Contact us!

Built For Africa’s Architects

Whether you're building, funding, or learning — this is your community.

For Students: Learn. Build. Launch.

Turn theory into impact with mentorship, hackathons, and real-world systems exposure.

  • Industry leaders & investor access
  • Hands-on hackathons
  • Practical systems insight
  • Future-focused peer network
Get Student Pass
Register for Hackathon

For Investors: Curated Deal Flow

Discover high-potential African ventures before they scale.

  • Pre-scheduled founder meetings
  • Early-stage opportunity access
  • Market & regulatory insight
  • Top African builders
Get Appropriate Pass
Deal Room Interest

For Startups: Sharpen. Scale. Lead.

Validate, showcase, and scale solutions across Africa.

  • Startup exhibition space
  • Investor deal rooms
  • Corporate feedback
  • Pan-African partnerships
Get Appropriate Pass
Apply to Exhibit

For Corporates: Discover & Innovate

Identify emerging solutions and future talent early.

  • Technology foresight
  • Startup & student access
  • Innovation collaboration
  • Early-mover advantage
Get Appropriate Pass
Talent & Exhibit Interest

Frequently Asked Questions

Students, investors, startup founders, and corporate innovators committed to building Africa's technological future.

We apply a systemic lens—interrogating not just what's being built, but for whom, by whom, and toward what end. Every session connects to the larger goal of coherent, Pan-African systems.

Registration links are available in the respective audience sections. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

Yes! Our Deal Room on Day 2 features pre-scheduled meetings between showcased builders and investors.

WHY PARTNER WITH AIC

Shape Africa's Tech Future While Building Your Brand

Strategic Positioning

Align your brand with Africa's most influential tech ecosystem builders, investors, and institutions.

Direct Access

Connect with 500+ students, founders, and decision-makers across seven critical tech sectors.

Thought Leadership

Position executives as speakers, panelists, or workshop leaders shaping continental conversations.

Pan-African Reach

Gain visibility across multiple African regions through pre-event, live, and post-event campaigns.

Talent Pipeline

Early access to Africa's brightest student innovators and emerging tech leaders.

Deal Flow & Innovation

Discover startups and solutions aligned with your corporate innovation or investment strategy.

Why This Matters Now

Africa's AI ecosystem exists—but it's incoherent. Data is extracted. Compute is external. Talent migrates. Capital follows non-African incentives.

We're replicating colonial extraction patterns in the digital realm.

The Opportunity: Transform fragmented innovations into coherent systems. Design technology with African-defined purpose. Build for shared prosperity, not external extraction.

Current System

Fragmented, outward-flowing, extractive

African Intelligence

Interconnected, internally strong, shared prosperity

One System. Seven Entry Points.

Each pillar explores how we build technological systems that preserve African agency and create shared prosperity.

Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Tech

Building Startups that Solve Africa's Real Problems

Turn local wins into interoperable building blocks while keeping value local.

Fintech, Finance & Investment

Financing African AI at Scale

Design financial systems that capture Africa’s economic upside.

Health & Life Systems

Accessible Health Solutions

Trusted, interoperable, and resilient regional health systems.

Agriculture, Energy & Climate

Smart Farms & Renewable Futures

Resilient food systems and distributed clean energy.

Infrastructure & Digital Public Goods

Digital Cities & Trust

A pan-African interoperable public tech stack.

Media & Creative Economies

African Creative Economy

Ensure cultural value accrues to African creators.

Leadership & Global Systems

Shaping Africa’s Tech Leaders

Keep talent and leadership circulating within Africa.

Two Days. Infinite Connections.

Day 1: Connect & Activate

Celebration & Discovery
  • 15 Years of MIT AIC: Opening celebration mixer
    • Alumni Keynote: Outstanding alumni in the AI space
  • Hackathon Launch: Build solutions that matter
  • Startup Exhibitions: Discover innovators building coherent, pan-African systems

Day 2: Deepen & Commit

Systems Thinking in Action

    Opening Plenary: Framing the system challenge and African Intelligence opportunity
  • Morning Sessions: Innovation & Technology | Fintech & Investment | Health Systems
  • Midday Sessions: Agriculture & Climate | Infrastructure & Governance
  • Afternoon Sessions: Creative Economies | Leadership & Talent
  • Evening Deal Room: Pre-scheduled meetings between builders and investors

Sponsors