Ventures Platform Convenes Africa Prosperity Summit 2026 To Examine Capital, AI And The Real Value Of African Tech
The fourth edition of the gathering brought together investors, founders, fund managers and ecosystem leaders to assess pathways to scale in the face of changing conditions.
Ventures Platform, a leading African seed-stage venture capital firm, convened the fourth edition of the Africa Prosperity Summit (APS) in Lagos, bringing together people allocating and deploying capital across Africa’s innovation economy – including leading institutional investors, development finance institutions, fund managers, family offices and global funds of funds.
Held under the theme “Scaling Through Change: Capital, AI, and the Real Value of Africa’s Innovation Ecosystem,” the 2026 Summit explored the practical considerations shaping the next phase of Africa’s innovation economy, from the conditions needed to scale AI and expand pathways to liquidity, to the capital structures best suited to the future and what it takes for African businesses to compete globally. Across these discussions, speakers challenged existing assumptions, brought diverse perspectives to the table and examined what the next phase demands of those building companies, deploying capital and shaping the markets in which they operate.
The Summit welcomed delegates from across Africa and beyond, including investment leaders and founders from Egypt and Côte d’Ivoire, markets where Ventures Platform has a presence. Notable attendees included Abi Ajayi, Head of Primary Markets, Middle East and Africa at the London Stock Exchange, Andrew Alli, Senior Independent Director and Chair of the Audit and Compliance Committee, BII, alongside investors, entrepreneurs and leaders from across the investment and technology landscape.
The conference followed a welcome reception on October 29 held in partnership with the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub at the British High Commission residence in Lagos.
Opening the conference, Kola Aina, Founding Partner at Ventures Platform, delivered a welcome address titled “From Promise to Proof: Framing APS 2026.” Reflecting on the evolution of Africa’s innovation ecosystem, he noted that the questions facing the ecosystem have shifted from whether African founders can build at scale and attract meaningful capital to what that investment is producing and how businesses create value beyond headline valuations. Drawing attention to the changing economics of company-building, particularly the implications of AI for jobs and business models, he challenged investors and ecosystem participants to reconsider how value is defined and distributed.
Aina asked: “As an ecosystem, are we building companies around the capital available today, or around the needs Africa must address? As AI reshapes business models and the economics of work, who captures the value, and where do the margins accrue? Can AI help address non-consumption in Africa?” He also added “We must also be clear-eyed about liquidity: who will buy our companies, and what needs to be true for those outcomes to happen? Ultimately, how do we connect what we fund and build more directly to the real economy, creating lasting value for the people, stakeholders and markets it serves?”
He emphasised that these questions around capital, AI, value and liquidity should extend beyond the opening address, setting the stage for the conversations and debates at APS 2026.
The opening address was followed by a keynote from Mayowa Kuyoro, Partner at McKinsey Nigeria, titled “A Data Baseline for Africa’s Innovation Ecosystem.” Drawing on a decade of ecosystem data, she exam0-ined what investment has helped build across African technology markets, from the growth of companies and employment to digital adoption, financial inclusion and exits. Her presentation highlighted the concentration of capital across a handful of markets, sectors and companies, while examining the progress made in expanding access to digital and financial services. She also drew attention to persistent challenges around funding pathways, job creation, affordability and policy, offering a grounded assessment of how far the ecosystem has come and what needs to change for it to deliver broader economic value.
Across three panels, leading industry voices reflected on the defining successes and lessons in African tech over the years, explored what it will take to finance the opportunities of the next decade beyond Venture Capital, and examined whether building globally competitive companies from Africa can become a repeatable strategy. Together, these conversations challenged conventional thinking about capital, scale and markets, and explore what the next chapter of African innovation could look like
Practical workshops also explored Africa’s AI infrastructure and the investment opportunities in its constraints; a track on tokenization, stablecoins and African capital markets, curated by cross-border payment platform, Juicyway; and a session on how regulation shapes the cost of investing in African markets. The programme further featured spotlights from the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub and FSD Africa’s Managers Finance Facility for emerging African Fund Managers, broadening the conversation around innovation, investment and development.
Fireside conversations featuring Tidjane Deme, General Partner at Partech, and Dotun Olowoporoku, Managing Partner at Ventures Platform, examined the relationship between capital deployment, fund performance and returns. A separate conversation between GB Agboola, Founder and CEO of Flutterwave, and Kola Aina explored the lessons of the past decade and what the next generation of African technology companies must do to build and scale sustainably.
Commenting on the significance of the Summit, Dotun Olowoporoku, Managing Partner at Ventures Platform, said: “Africa’s technology ecosystem has made significant progress, but sustaining that progress will require more than capital. It calls for stronger collaboration among investors, founders, policymakers and other ecosystem stakeholders to address shared challenges and create the conditions for businesses to grow. APS provides an important platform for these conversations, bringing together the people and institutions that can help shape the ecosystem’s next phase.”.
APS 2026 was supported by FSD Africa, UK-Nigeria Tech Hub and G. Elias, with ecosystem partners AVCA, Novastar Ventures, Wimbart and TLP Advisory, Cybervergent, Juicyway, Omni and Rank.
Now in its fourth edition, the Africa Prosperity Summit continues to provide a platform for candid conversations and meaningful connections among the people shaping Africa’s innovation and investment landscape. By bringing together perspectives across capital, technology, policy and business, APS seeks to advance the thinking and collaboration needed to build resilient companies, deepen markets and create enduring value across the continent.
About Ventures Platform
Ventures Platform is a leading seed-stage venture capital firm in Africa that discovers and invests in category-leading, market-creating innovations and supports them to scale. The firm backs companies that bridge infrastructure gaps and promote prosperity by eliminating barriers to access and reducing delivery costs. Through investments in businesses addressing non-consumption and creating new markets, Ventures Platform supports innovation across sectors and regions of Africa. Its portfolio includes Fez Delivery, LemFi, Moniepoint, OmniRetail, Paystack, PiggyVest, Remedial Health, SunFi, ThriveAgric and Verto.
About Africa Prosperity Summit
The Africa Prosperity Summit (APS) is an invite-only, investor-first gathering for the people allocating and deploying capital across Africa’s innovation economy – including leading institutional investors, development finance institutions, fund managers, family offices and global funds of funds, alongside a carefully selected group of founders, policymakers and ecosystem leaders essential to the conversation.
Convened by Ventures Platform and shaped in collaboration with an advisory council of active fund managers and ecosystem leaders, the Summit takes a practitioner-led approach to creating the spaces for candid dialogue, high-value relationships and practical collaboration around the capital, policies and partnerships required to build long-term prosperity across Africa.