The Innovate Africa Foundation has convened major technology players and business leaders at the Inspire Africa Conference in Lagos to address Africa's infrastructure deficit and accelerate the continent's product innovation economy. The conference offered full scholarships to over 450 emerging product managers and builders, enabling them to learn from industry veterans, receive expert coaching, and access connections to high-growth opportunities.
Key industry supporters Paga and Interswitch have backed the conference since 2023, reflecting growing enterprise recognition of the importance of investing in programs that train and deploy product leaders capable of driving innovation and tackling Africa's economic challenges. The conference brought together institutional, policy, academic and enterprise stakeholders, with keynote speakers including Olu Akanmu from Lagos Business School, product leadership coach Petra Willie, and Charity Ibhadon, Global Product Director at WPP. High-level delegations attended from the Mastercard Foundation, the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, and Lagos Business School, demonstrating a commitment to bridging gaps between public policy, digital infrastructure, and talent development.
A closed-door CPO and C-Suite Summit led by Christian Idiodi from Silicon Valley Product Group brought together executive leaders from major African enterprises including Nedbank, Absa, Access Bank, Stanbic IBTC, MTN, and Paga. Sessions focused on moving beyond feature-heavy product development toward driving measurable business outcomes, with emphasis on how disciplined product strategy optimizes capital efficiency and reduces wasted research and development spending. Practical sessions for product managers featured experts such as Roger Norton, Annu Augustine, Abiola Laseinde and Nkem Nweke, who delivered hands-on workshops for participants from Visa, Moniepoint, Accion Microfinance, and First Bank.
More than 100 founders attended the conference, accessing frameworks from globally renowned product leaders and successful startup founders. Industry experts including Chidi Afulezi, Akachukwu Okafor, Joycee Awosika, Ayo Alaba, and others delivered masterclasses on scaling ventures, validating product-market fit, and navigating economic challenges. A Canva Workshop demonstrated live problem-solving techniques, teaching product teams how to use artificial intelligence capabilities to build prototypes and test ideas before development, offering a more cost-effective approach to product development.
The Innovate Africa Foundation has announced plans for the 2027 Inspire Africa Conference, which will expand to four major African tech hubs: Lagos, Cape Town, Nairobi, and Casablanca. The foundation positions the annual conference as distinct from generic technology gatherings by focusing on execution, workforce development, venture building, and sustainable growth, with partners gaining access to thousands of active users and corporate partners able to build institutional capacity.