What an honor to emcee the first African Digital Futures Summit 2025 on the margins of hashtag#UNGA80 in New York! Organized by ServiceNow , Africa House (where I am a Senior Advisor), and the G20 South African Presidency, the summit brought together policymakers, founders, investors, and creatives to discuss Africa’s digital destiny.
It was truly delightful to see the lineup of brilliant Africans and Africanists willing to schlep all the way across Manhattan (in a context where taxis could not come to the rescue) to join the conversation; the right-sized location on the 74th Floor of the hashtag#HudsonYards building that ensured the right flow of panels, networking, and #jollof rice; and a packed house right to the very end, when everyone simply had to leave the building.
One thing I appreciate about convening by the Africa House is that they do not pretend that there is a world where technical solutions by themselves, without politics and government, somehow save the day. Neither do they pretend that the multilaterals, beleaguered as they are in the current policy environment, are irrelevant.
You saw that in the range of knotty issues on the table. For example, this coming tech future, how can we as an African continent pay for it, protect it, and critically, ensure we have the talent that will participate in the rule-making as equals in the coming decades?
This last part – the people to build Africa’s future in Africa’s own image – is particularly exciting, given our work at 8B Education Investments (8b.africa), and our commitment as part of the 50 by 35 Initiative of the Africa House, to build the superhighway to connect African talent with the innovation ecosystems where the future is shaped.
A few highlights from the incredible lineup:
➡️ H. E. Ronald Ozzy Lamola, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa
➡️ Dr. Peter Ndegwa C.B.S CEO, Safaricom PLC
➡️ H.E. Mondli Gungubele – Deputy Minister, Communications & Digital Technologies, South Africa
➡️ Mayor Eric Adams – Mayor, City of New York
➡️ Amit Zavery, President, Chief Product Officer and Chief Operating Officer, ServiceNow
➡️ HE Ahunna Eziakonwa, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General & Director, UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa
➡️ Florence Otedola DJ Cuppy – Founder, Cuppy Foundation, Nigerian DJ, musician and producer.
➡️ Clare Akamanzi – CEO, NBA Africa
➡️ Aissata M.B. Camara M.B. Camara – Commissioner for International Affairs, New York City
Thank you Cheick Camara (VP & Managing Director, ServiceNow Africa), Shanthi Annan (CEO & co-Founder Africa House) for the effort, and to the incredible moderators (Shikoh Gitau, Founder, Qhala; Peter Ukhurebor, Founder, Black at; Alex Tsado, co-founder, Ahuraai; David Alorka, Presenter & Broadcaster, Ideation Global).
Herewith some behind-the-scenes photos!
