Africa’s AI Strategy: Opportunities, Challenges, and the Path Forward

Africa’s agricultural sector remains heavily dependent on raw commodity exports, with value addition accounting for just 10-15% of total exports. This limits the continent’s ability to fully benefit from global and regional markets for processed goods. Despite decades of efforts to improve subsistence farming, food systems and livelihoods have seen little transformation.

This panel will explore how demand-driven value addition, branding, and storytelling—supported by the right investments and ecosystem partnerships—can drive sector growth, enhance food security, and unlock economic potential. Panelists from across the value chain will discuss key gaps, opportunities, and actionable pathways to create and capture value in Africa’s agricultural ecosystem.

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In the face of widespread energy inequities, this panel will examine how cross-border infrastructure and renewable energy innovation can reshape Africa’s energy landscape. Experts will discuss strategies for creating a unified energy grid across the continent, integrating both renewable and traditional energy sources. Attendees will learn how a coordinated approach can drive Africa’s energy independence and power economic growth

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Building a fintech company that reshapes how money moves across Africa—and beyond—is no easy feat. The challenges go far beyond the headlines. Few succeed in this market. To scale, you need more than a great idea—you need resilience, sacrifice, and relentless determination.

How do you convince Silicon Valley investors to back an African startup? What does it take to challenge the status quo in the global financial system? And what are the real, behind-the-scenes battles of building something that truly lasts?

Benjamin Fernandes, Founder & CEO of NALA, has lived it all—and he’s here to tell the unfiltered truth.

Born and raised in Tanzania, Benjamin first made his mark as a national television personality. But he had bigger ambitions. Earning scholarships that took him to the U.S., he became the youngest African ever admitted to the MBA program at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Yet instead of climbing the corporate ladder or staying in Silicon Valley, he took the harder road—building a company that would transform how Africans send and receive money across borders.

That company is NALA. What started as a simple remittance app has grown into one of Africa’s most ambitious fintech ventures. Today, NALA powers seamless, low-cost payments from the U.S. and Europe into Africa, cutting through the inefficiencies of the global financial system. Now, with a $40 million oversubscribed Series A funding round, and a Forbes cover story to match, NALA is expanding beyond remittances—building its own payment rails, launching a B2B platform (Rafiki), and setting its sights on global markets, including Asia and Latin America.

In this rare, behind-the-scenes conversation, Benjamin will pull back the curtain on the real journey—the wins, the losses, the breakthroughs, and the breakdowns. No filters. No fluff. Just the raw truth of what it takes to build and scale a fintech company in Africa.

If you’re an entrepreneur, investor, or believer in bold ideas and Africa’s unstoppable rise, you won’t want to miss this.

Come for the insights. Stay for the inspiration.

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