Agenda

Africa has laid strong foundations in connectivity and investment. How can the ecosystem turn that momentum into large-scale, sustainable delivery?

Africa’s growth depends on how governments and industry collaborate to scale connectivity, compute, energy and digital services. Public–private partnerships (PPPs) are emerging as a critical mechanism to align national goals with private-sector innovation, unlock capital, and harmonise policy across borders.

The regulatory landscape remains one of the most decisive factors shaping Africa’s digital infrastructure growth. Fragmented licensing, unclear rights‑of‑way processes, inconsistent site permitting, and grid‑related approvals continue to slow the rollout of towers, fibre routes, and data centres. These barriers inflate deployment costs, hinder co‑location and open‑access models, and create uncertainty for investors seeking scalable, multi‑sector infrastructure strategies.

For towercos, fibre operators, hyperscale and edge providers, and energy partners, predictable regulation is essential to enabling shared‑infrastructure buildout, long‑term investment, and cross‑sector coordination.

Start your day with a morning of inspiration at our dedicated Talent in Tech forum. This empowering event will feature leading female voices in the industry sharing their stories and experiences, overcoming challenges and driving dynamic change in an otherwise static sector.  

Ensuring people, business and governments can use, afford, and benefit from the networks and digital infrastructure that has been built.

How policy and regulation shape where networks are built and how investment flows.

Open access has long underpinned Africa’s connectivity growth, enabling affordable and efficient use of shared digital infrastructure. Today, the model is being reconsidered as operators consolidate assets, operating costs, especially energy, continue to rise, regulatory scrutiny increases, and cross‑sector ecosystems spanning fibre, power, data centres and edge become more complex.

This session explores whether open access can still deliver on its original promise. We’ll examine how shifting industry structures, regulatory and commercial pressures, and wider economic challenges are reshaping multi‑tenant approaches and the future of shared infrastructure across the continent.

Understanding the pace and shape of growth across different regions.

This roundtable unites digital infrastructure and energy leaders to tackle rising power costs, grid reliability, and deployment delays. Discover strategic insights on managing power, outsourcing, and building successful energy partnerships.

Efficiency and cooling strategies are now central to how data centres are designed, operated and scaled.

Why demand, connectivity and policy are shaping clear data centre hubs.

As mobile networks evolve, the traditional macro layer is no longer the sole foundation of connectivity. The rise of 5G, private networks and new digital applications is accelerating the move toward infrastructure deployed closer to the end‑user. From small cells and indoor systems to edge data centres, the network is becoming denser, smarter and more distributed.

This panel unpacks how non‑macro assets are reshaping deployment strategies, unlocking new commercial models, and redefining what “coverage” means for operators, enterprises and infrastructure investors across Africa.