AfriLabs Annual Gathering 2026 -Cotonou
18 November to 20 November 2026 · 98 sessions across 3 days
Rooms
Breakout Room 1
Breakout Room A
Breakout Room B
Breakout Room C
Breakout Room D
Breakout Rooms A-D
Gala Venue
Hotel Venue
Main Hall
Main Hall Foyer
Off-site - Cotonou hubs
Off-site Venue
Terrace
Track Rooms
| Day | Time | Session | Who | Track | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | 07:30–09:00 | Registration & Welcome Coffee | — | Plenary | Main Hall Foyer |
| Day 1 | 09:00–09:10 | Opening Cultural Performance | spoken word group [placeholder], TBC – local cultural dance | Plenary | Main Hall |
| Day 1 | 09:10–09:15 | Kick-off by Master of Ceremonies | Grace Adeyemi [placeholder] | Plenary | Main Hall |
| Day 1 | 09:15–09:22 | Opening Remarks | AfriLabs, Anna Ekeledo and 1 more | Plenary | Main Hall |
| Day 1 | 09:22–09:29 | Welcome Address | AfriLabs, Board Chair and 1 more | Plenary | Main Hall |
| Day 1 | 09:29–09:39 | Keynote: Host Government Address | Cabinet Secretary, Government of Benin Republic [placeholder] and 2 more | Plenary | Main Hall |
| Day 1 | 09:39–09:49 | Good-will Messages | TBC – AfriLabs Former Board Chairs, Trustees [placeholder] | Plenary | Main Hall |
| Day 1 | 09:50–10:20 | Panel: Innovative Financing to Catalyse Innovation at Scale | Moderator: TBC, Panelists: TBC (3-4 investors) [placeholder] | Plenary | Main Hall |
| Day 1 | 10:20–10:25 | Energizer by the MCs | — | Plenary | Main Hall |
| Day 1 | 10:30–10:45 | Special Address by Guest of Honour | Guest of Honour [placeholder], HE TBC | Plenary | Main Hall |
| Day 1 | 10:45–10:55 | Keynote: Development Partner | Development Partner [placeholder], Regional Director and 1 more | Plenary | Main Hall |
| Day 1 | 10:55–11:05 | Fireside Chat: Board Chair & Development Partner | AfriLabs Board Chair, Rene Parker and 1 more | Plenary | Main Hall |
| Day 1 | 11:05–11:40 | Tea Break / Networking | — | Plenary | Main Hall Foyer |
| Day 1 | 11:45–13:45 | High-level Ministerial Roundtable | Development Partners [placeholder], Digital Economy and 2 more | Plenary | Breakout Room 1 |
| Day 1 | 12:00–14:00 | Track Activities (Session A) | — | All Tracks (parallel) | Breakout Rooms A-D |
| Day 1 | 12:00–12:05 | MC Energizer | TBC [placeholder] | Funding & Investment | Breakout Room A |
| Day 1 | 12:00–12:05 | MC Energizer | TBC [placeholder] | Policy & Regulation | Breakout Room B |
| Day 1 | 12:00–12:05 | MC Energizer | TBC [placeholder] | Gender & Inclusion | Breakout Room C |
| Day 1 | 12:00–12:05 | MC Energizer | TBC [placeholder] | Talent & Hub Development | Breakout Room D |
| Day 1 | 12:05–12:10 | Welcome Address | TBC, Track Lead [placeholder] | Funding & Investment | Breakout Room A |
| Day 1 | 12:05–12:15 | Welcome Address by Track Lead | AfriLabs [placeholder], Senior Partnerships Manager and 1 more | Policy & Regulation | Breakout Room B |
| Day 1 | 12:05–12:20 | Welcome & Keynote Address by Track Lead | CEO, Partner Organisation [placeholder] and 1 more | Gender & Inclusion | Breakout Room C |
| Day 1 | 12:05–12:10 | Welcome Address | AfriLabs [placeholder], Community Director and 1 more | Talent & Hub Development | Breakout Room D |
| Day 1 | 12:15–12:25 | Keynote: Building Investor Confidence in African Markets | CEO [placeholder], Founder and 1 more | Funding & Investment | Breakout Room A |
| Day 1 | 12:15–12:25 | Keynote: Future-proofing Innovation Hubs for Scale & Sustainability | Partner Agency CEO [placeholder], TBC | Talent & Hub Development | Breakout Room D |
| Day 1 | 12:20–13:00 | Fireside Chat: Policy to Practice - AI Regulation & Sandboxes | Moderator: TBC, Panelists: TBC [placeholder] | Policy & Regulation | Breakout Room B |
| Day 1 | 12:20–12:30 | Presentation: Disability Inclusion Lens for Equitable Innovation | Assistive Technology Org [placeholder], Founder and 1 more | Gender & Inclusion | Breakout Room C |
| Day 1 | 12:25–13:05 | Panel 1: From Local Capital to Global Scale | Moderator: TBC, Panelists: TBC (3-4) [placeholder] | Funding & Investment | Breakout Room A |
| Day 1 | 12:30–13:00 | Candid Chat: IP Protection for Innovation Hubs | Moderator: TBC, Panelists: TBC [placeholder] | Talent & Hub Development | Breakout Room D |
| Day 1 | 12:35–13:15 | Panel 1: Rethinking Equity, Access & Representation | Moderator: TBC, Panelists: TBC (4-5) [placeholder] | Gender & Inclusion | Breakout Room C |
| Day 1 | 13:00–13:10 | Keynote: Africa's AI Inflection Point | Regulatory Body Secretary General [placeholder], TBC | Policy & Regulation | Breakout Room B |
| Day 1 | 13:05–13:45 | Panel 2: Macroeconomic Outlook on African Markets | Moderator: TBC, Panelists: TBC [placeholder] | Funding & Investment | Breakout Room A |
| Day 1 | 13:05–13:55 | Panel 1: Leadership Development for Impact & Equity | Moderator: TBC, Panelists: TBC (4-5) [placeholder] | Talent & Hub Development | Breakout Room D |
| Day 1 | 13:10–14:00 | Panel 1: Building African AI Champions | Moderator: TBC, Panelists: TBC (3-4) [placeholder] | Policy & Regulation | Breakout Room B |
| Day 1 | 13:20–13:40 | Fireside Chat: Getting More Capital to Women Entrepreneurs | Speakers: TBC [placeholder] | Gender & Inclusion | Breakout Room C |
| Day 1 | 14:00–15:00 | Lunch Break | — | Plenary | Terrace |
| Day 1 | 14:00–15:00 | MoU Signings / Press Briefing | — | Plenary | Breakout Room 1 |
| Day 1 | 15:00–17:00 | Track Activities (Session B) | — | All Tracks (parallel) | Breakout Rooms A-D |
| Day 1 | 15:00–15:40 | Breakout Roundtables: De-risking Capital / Ecosystem Support / Gender Lens Investing | Facilitators: TBC [placeholder] | Funding & Investment | Breakout Room A |
| Day 1 | 15:00–15:40 | Panel 2: Building an AI Alliance for Africa | Moderator: TBC, Panelists: TBC [placeholder] | Policy & Regulation | Breakout Room B |
| Day 1 | 15:00–15:45 | Candid Conversation: Local Language Resources & Entrepreneurial Growth | Moderator: TBC, Panelists: TBC [placeholder] | Gender & Inclusion | Breakout Room C |
| Day 1 | 15:00–15:30 | Fireside Chat: Measuring What Matters - Aligning Startups with SDGs | Speakers: TBC [placeholder] | Talent & Hub Development | Breakout Room D |
| Day 1 | 15:30–16:10 | Panel 2: Hub-Led Strategies for Jobs, Governance & Digital Trust | Moderator: TBC, Panelists: TBC [placeholder] | Talent & Hub Development | Breakout Room D |
| Day 1 | 15:40–16:10 | Panel 3: Financing Africa's Next Industrial Decade | Moderator: TBC, Panelists: TBC [placeholder] | Funding & Investment | Breakout Room A |
| Day 1 | 15:40–16:20 | Policy Workshop | Facilitators: TBC [placeholder] | Policy & Regulation | Breakout Room B |
| Day 1 | 15:45–16:15 | Fireside Chat: Designing Inclusive Innovation for Equity and Access | Moderator: TBC, Panelists: TBC [placeholder] | Gender & Inclusion | Breakout Room C |
| Day 1 | 16:10–16:40 | Presentation: Legal Strategies for Investing Across Africa | Legal Partner [placeholder], TBC | Funding & Investment | Breakout Room A |
| Day 1 | 16:10–16:50 | Panel 3: Building Resilience - Sustainable Startup Support Ecosystems | Moderator: TBC, Panelists: TBC [placeholder] | Talent & Hub Development | Breakout Room D |
| Day 1 | 16:15–17:00 | Panel 2: Inclusive Finance & Design | Moderator: TBC, Panelists: TBC (4-5) [placeholder] | Gender & Inclusion | Breakout Room C |
| Day 1 | 16:20–16:50 | Presentation: African Policy Toolkit | AfriLabs Board-at-Large Member [placeholder], TBC | Policy & Regulation | Breakout Room B |
| Day 1 | 16:40–17:00 | Closing & Networking | — | Funding & Investment | Breakout Room A |
| Day 1 | 16:50–17:00 | Networking / Closing | — | Policy & Regulation | Breakout Room B |
| Day 1 | 16:50–17:00 | Closing / Networking | — | Talent & Hub Development | Breakout Room D |
| Day 1 | 17:00–17:20 | Networking | — | Plenary | Track Rooms |
| Day 1 | 17:00–17:10 | Closing Circle | — | Gender & Inclusion | Breakout Room C |
| Day 1 | 19:30–22:00 | AAG 2026 Gala Night | — | Plenary | Gala Venue |
Colours mark tracks and are assigned automatically; every session is named with its track as well, so the agenda reads the same without them.