African Tech Leaders Gaze Towards the Future at the 2025 Africa Technology Expo
The 2025 Africa Technology Expo (ATE) in Lagos, Nigeria, saw Olumide Balogun, Director at Google West Africa, deliver a keynote address that outlined a compelling vision for Africa's tech industry. Balogun's speech focused on the growth, globalization, and strategic partnerships needed to propel Africa's tech sector into a major player on the global stage by 2030.
Balogun emphasized the importance of solving fundamental, large-scale problems and building mobile-first products, as well as prioritizing accessibility, digitizing the informal economy, and understanding policy and funding shifts in Africa's evolving ecosystem. He urged governments to accelerate infrastructure development, harmonize regulations, and invest in human capital to reduce brain drain and build local capacity.
The expo, which attracted over 2,000 attendees and 50 exhibiting companies, highlighted Africa's burgeoning tech scene. Key areas of focus included the rise of green tech, with a focus on solar infrastructure, investment in renewables, and the energy demands of data centers and AI. E-commerce is booming, with AI-powered solutions in supply chain management, inventory prediction, and last-mile delivery unlocking potential in informal retail and urban logistics.
Balogun encouraged entrepreneurs to prioritize accessibility, affordability, and impact, especially for the growing urban youth population. He urged investors to look beyond fintech and explore climate tech, agritech, and AI-led solutions that solve core African problems. The next generation of fintech will focus on comprehensive financial inclusion for Africa's underserved informal sector.
AI-driven credit scoring, alternative data use, and mobile-based financial tools are the future of fintech, while the session "Buy African or Bye Africa?" emphasized that Africa has the talent and resources to build a capital environment for African businesses to thrive. The session also highlighted the importance of supporting local businesses to keep wealth within Africa.
Regional digital trade protocols and national startup acts in countries like Senegal and Nigeria are aligning legal frameworks to stimulate tech entrepreneurship. While overall VC funding declined from 2023 to 2024, equity funding remained steady with a focus on profitability.
In conclusion, Balogun's keynote at the 2025 Africa Technology Expo anticipates that by 2030, Africa's tech industry will be globally competitive, deeply integrated into international innovation networks, and supported by strategic partnerships and robust legal frameworks—positioning the continent as a major player in the global technology landscape. The expo served as a platform for showcasing Africa's technological prowess and fostering cross-border collaboration and investment.
- Olumide Balogun, during his keynote address at the 2025 Africa Technology Expo, stressed the significance of building mobile-first products and addressing large-scale problems in Africa's tech industry.
- Balogun advocated for prioritizing accessibility, affordability, and impact, particularly for the growing urban youth population, while encouraging entrepreneurs to look beyond fintech and explore solutions in climate tech, agritech, and AI.
- The rise of green tech, with a focus on solar infrastructure and investment in renewables, was a key area of focus at the expo, along with the booming e-commerce sector, which is seeing growth through AI-powered solutions in supply chain management, inventory prediction, and last-mile delivery.
- The next generation of fintech will focus on comprehensive financial inclusion for Africa's underserved informal sector, with AI-driven credit scoring, alternative data use, and mobile-based financial tools leading the way.
- The expo served as a platform for showcasing Africa's technological prowess, fostering cross-border collaboration, and attracting investment, as regional digital trade protocols and national startup acts align legal frameworks to stimulate tech entrepreneurship.
- By 2030, Africa's tech industry, as envisioned by Balogun, will be globally competitive, deeply integrated into international innovation networks, and supported by strategic partnerships and robust legal frameworks—positioning the continent as a major player in the global technology landscape.
