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AfriLabs Celebrates 10 Years: From Five Hubs to a Continental Movement Transforming Africa's Innovation Future

Author

Gerald Kombo
October 14, 2025

Delegates at the 10th AfriLabs Annual Gathering at the United Nations Office in Nairobi, Kenya, October 2025.

The gathering, held under the theme "Africa's Innovation Future: Policy, Partnerships and Progress," brought together innovators, policymakers, investors, and ecosystem builders at UNON. This wasn't just another conference; this was a family reunion of Africa's innovation community.

The Journey: From Five Hubs to Continental Scale

Jennifer Okoru, Senior Ecosystems Engagement Manager at AfriLabs, set the tone by reminding attendees that while protocols matter, this remained fundamentally a family gathering. "We're here for a serious event. However, this is a community. This is a family gathering that does change the world," she declared.

When AfriLabs began in 2011 with just five pioneering innovation hubs in four African countries, it was more than an organization; it was a movement. Today, the network spans innovation hubs across 53 countries and more than 200 cities.

Engineer Michael Oluwagbemi, Emeritus Partner at Lofty Inc. and former AfriLabs board chair, reflected on those early days. "I remember the struggle of putting together that first African gathering. I remember us getting to Accra not even knowing how we were going to meet the bills. But I was also inspired by the movement that that opportunity began."

The Vision That Drove Ten Years

Anna Ekeledo, AfriLabs Executive Director, joining virtually due to a recent family addition, painted a powerful picture of the organization's founding vision.

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"When AfriLabs began in 2011 with just five pioneering innovation hubs in four African countries, we were not merely building an organization. We were building a movement. A movement rooted in the belief that Africans can build the solutions that Africa needs."

Her message was clear and urgent. While Africa holds everything it needs to rise; the youngest population, unmatched creativity, abundant resources, and a history of innovation; action must be accelerated.

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"For all the talk, all the funds, and all the effort, the sleepless nights, the long days, the sacrifice of comfort for cause, many of us here have invested, we are still not moving fast enough."

Her challenge resonated throughout the venue: What will we do differently? How will we lead courageously from within?

The Timbuktoo Partnership: A Bold Initiative

One of the gathering's most significant announcements centered on the AfriLabs partnership with Timbuktoo, UNDP's bold initiative to spark Africa's innovation ecosystem. Described as a "ten year moonshot," Timbuktoo aims to mobilize catalytic capital for African innovators.

Former Nigerian Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, attending as Guardian of the Timbuktoo Initiative, joined Ahunna Eziakonwa, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Regional Bureau for Africa Director, in articulating the vision for innovation led growth.

Sinnazo Cibisi, Chief Investment Officer at Timbuktoo, outlined the initiative's core philosophy during her panel moderation on innovative financial solutions.

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"The world is changing and is changing fast. Some people view this as a poly crisis, but at Timbuktoo, we view this as a poly opportunity."

The strategy focuses on three critical elements: speed, scale, and sustainability. Drawing inspiration from Africa's mobile money success story, the initiative aims to support innovations that can cross borders quickly and grow markets rapidly.

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"We knew that we needed to build an end to end ecosystem that would basically focus on early stage R&D, incubating, bedding ventures and scaling them up in terms of accelerating them so we could build a strong crop of gazelles that would be able to take Africa to the world."

The Earthquake Moment

Before the formalities began, Jennifer Okoru orchestrated what she called an "earthquake" moment; a physical embodiment of AfriLabs' impact over the past decade. She asked the entire audience to stand and stomp their feet together until the ground rumbled.

"For the last 10 years, we have created a change on the ecosystem. For the last 10 years, you can say we have created an earthquake because we made the ground shift," she explained.

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"That's what we've done for the last 10 years together. So that's what we're going to do for the next 10 years. We as a nation are changing the landscape. We as a nation are changing the world."

A New Board, A Bold Vision

Renee Parker, newly elected as AfriLabs Board Chair and co founder who grew the organization from a grassroots initiative in Cape Town to a global social enterprise, brought an emotional and inspiring perspective to her inaugural speech.

"I don't know how you can sit in this room and not be moved," Parker said. "The fact that we can stand here and celebrate this means that people before us had to sacrifice, had to fight, had to give up their lives in some moments for us to have this opportunity."

Parker issued a powerful challenge to attendees, particularly to connect across generations.

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"Let's take a moment to talk to someone you've never spoken to before. Make sure they're a little younger than you. Make sure you're encouraging them, you're inspiring them, you're giving them the motivation and maybe some money. The young people want to innovate. They want to take risks and they need us to help them do that."

When she asked how many attendees were still youth, a significant portion of the room raised their hands, a powerful testament to the gathering's demographic reach.

The Economic Ambition Question

Engineer Michael Oluwagbemi posed the gathering's most provocative question. He challenged attendees to think bigger about Africa's economic future.

"Africa in year 2050 will have 2.5 billion people, so what should be our target?" he asked. His calculations suggested Africa needs far more ambitious economic goals than currently projected.

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"If Africa wants to match the GDP of Thailand today in year 2050, we'll need to be a $188 trillion economy. If we want to match the GDP of Singapore, which is quite ambitious, one of the richest countries in the world, we need to have a $250 trillion economy. So there goes the range. What kind of Africa can we imagine? What kind of Africa do we want to build for ourselves? But that Africa is only possible if we all work together."

His challenge underscored the gathering's central theme: innovation is the vehicle through which Africa can leapfrog traditional development pathways and achieve transformational economic growth.

From Accra to Nairobi: A Decade of Evolution

The journey from that first gathering in Accra to the 10th edition in Nairobi tells the story of Africa's innovation ecosystem itself. The gathering has moved from country to country; Ghana to Egypt, Lusaka, Kigali, and Cape Town; each edition showcasing unique innovations while building cross border connections.

When the COVID 19 pandemic forced the 2020 gathering virtual, it tested the community's resilience. While participants missed the physical connection that makes the gathering special, the virtual format demonstrated the ecosystem's adaptability and innovation.

Six Tracks, One Vision

This year's gathering featured six specialized tracks, each championed by leading ecosystem players:

The Policy and AI track, led by Ubunifu Africa, TechBuzz Hub, and JHub Africa, explored governance frameworks for emerging technologies and innovation.

The Investor track, powered by the AfriLabs Connect deal room platform, focused on viable investment opportunities across the continent.

The Green and Blue Economy track, organized by RLabs and Sauté Hub, addressed climate solutions and sustainable ocean economies.

The Creative Digital Economy track, convened by Barza Media 360, Creative Hub, and Aakhan University, showcased Africa's growing creative industries.

The Health track, with the caption "Catalyzing Investment in Health," was assembled by Villgro Africa to explore healthcare innovation and investment.

The Maker Spaces track, brought together by the Twendi Hub, highlighted hands on innovation and manufacturing across the continent.

The Power of Ownership

A recurring theme throughout the opening session was ownership; Africans owning their narratives, their solutions, and their future. Ekeledo's message was unequivocal:

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"What we need all of us here today is to own our power to transform this continent. We don't need another validation, another know how, blueprint or solution to give us permission to act. We already have these. What we need is alignment."

This call for alignment emphasized that while individuals are powerful, together the African innovation community is "earthshattering, history making, transformative, a force that cannot be reined in."

Nairobi: The Silicon Savannah

Hosting the 10th anniversary in Nairobi, Kenya's "Silicon Savannah," carried symbolic weight. Kenya's innovation ecosystem, from fintech pioneers like M Pesa to emerging sectors in green tech and digital services, exemplifies what supportive policies and ecosystem collaboration can achieve.

The choice of the United Nations Office at Nairobi as the venue underscored the global significance of Africa's innovation journey. Here, in a space typically reserved for international diplomacy, Africa's innovators declared their rightful place in shaping not just continental but global futures.

Looking Forward: The Next Decade

As the gathering moves into its second decade, AfriLabs has outlined ambitious priorities:

Policy advocacy and innovation governance to ensure regulations enable rather than hinder innovation.

Capital mobilization and ecosystem financing to address the persistent funding gaps facing African startups.

Gender inclusive and youth led innovation to ensure Africa's demographic dividend translates into economic opportunity.

AI and emerging technologies for sustainable development, positioning Africa at the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution.

Cross border scaling of successful startup models, leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area to create truly pan African companies.

Ekeledo's closing words captured the gathering's spirit perfectly:

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"Let this gathering be our turning point. Let every handshake spark new partnerships. Let every session birth new ideas. Let every connection lead to creation, collaboration and concrete impact. When we leave this space, let us carry with us not only inspiration but intention. Not only dreams but decisions. Let us commit to take bold, audacious decisions backed by bold, audacious actions."

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