About DigiFest

Building Africa's Digital Future: Skills, Innovation & Opportunities for the Digital Economy

Africa is experiencing one of the fastest digital transformations in the world. Emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloud computing, cybersecurity, digital platforms, data science, automation, and the creator economy are reshaping industries, redefining careers, and unlocking new opportunities for innovation and economic growth. As governments, businesses, and communities increasingly embrace digital technologies, the demand for future-ready talent has never been greater.

About DigiFest-Africa

The DigiFest Africa 2026

DigiFest is ACWICT’s flagship Digital Skills and Innovation Festival, established to prepare the next generation of African innovators, entrepreneurs, professionals, and digital leaders for this rapidly evolving landscape.

More than just an event, DigiFest is a dynamic learning and networking platform that brings together young people, industry leaders, innovators, policymakers, educators, employers, investors, development partners, and technology enthusiasts to explore the opportunities shaping Africa’s digital future. Through keynote sessions, practical masterclasses, expert panel discussions, innovation showcases, networking forums, and career conversations, participants gain the knowledge, skills, and connections needed to thrive in the digital economy.

Whether you are beginning your digital journey, looking to upskill, launching a startup, advancing your career, or seeking strategic partnerships, DigiFest provides an inclusive platform where ideas meet opportunity and innovation meets impact.

About DigiFest-Africa

What is DigiFest?

DigiFest is Africa’s premier virtual digital skills and innovation festival dedicated to accelerating digital transformation through education, collaboration, entrepreneurship, and technology.

Unlike traditional conferences that focus primarily on presentations, DigiFest is designed as an immersive learning experience where participants actively engage with emerging technologies, industry experts, entrepreneurs, innovators, employers, and ecosystem builders.

The festival combines inspiration with practical learning by offering

  • Visionary keynote addresses from global and regional technology leaders.
  • Hands-on masterclasses focused on practical digital skills.
  • Interactive panel discussions addressing emerging trends and industry challenges.
  • Innovation showcases highlighting groundbreaking digital solutions.
  • Career development sessions connecting participants with employers and mentors.
  • Networking opportunities that foster collaboration across sectors and countries.

Every session is carefully curated to help participants answer one important question: “How can I position myself to succeed in Africa’s rapidly evolving digital economy?”

Our Vision

To become Africa’s leading digital skills and innovation festival that empowers individuals, strengthens innovation ecosystems, and accelerates inclusive participation in the digital economy. Our vision is to create a platform where every young African—regardless of background—can access knowledge, networks, opportunities, and inspiration that prepare them for the future of work.

Our Mission

To inspire, equip, and connect the next generation of African digital talent by delivering practical learning experiences, fostering innovation, strengthening strategic partnerships, and creating sustainable pathways into employment, entrepreneurship, and lifelong learning. DigiFest exists to bridge the gap between learning and opportunity by connecting talent with the organizations, technologies, and ecosystems shaping tomorrow’s economy.

objectives

Festival Objectives

DigiFest seeks to create meaningful pathways into Africa’s digital economy by pursuing the following strategic objectives.

Explore Emerging Opportunities

Help participants understand the technologies, industries, and career pathways driving Africa’s digital transformation—from Artificial Intelligence and cybersecurity to digital entrepreneurship, the creator economy, and the future of work.

Build Future-Ready Skills

Deliver practical learning experiences through expert-led masterclasses, workshops, demonstrations, and interactive sessions that strengthen technical, entrepreneurial, and professional competencies demanded by today’s digital workforce.

Showcase Innovation & Digital Transformation

Highlight innovative technologies, digital solutions, research, and success stories that are transforming industries while inspiring participants to become creators of innovation rather than simply consumers of technology.

Promote Entrepreneurship & Enterprise Development

Encourage participants to identify real-world challenges, design innovative digital solutions, and explore practical pathways for launching sustainable startups and technology-enabled businesses.

Strengthen Career Readiness

Connect participants with employers, mentors, recruiters, and industry professionals while equipping them with practical insights into employability, freelancing, remote work, digital careers, and lifelong professional development.

Foster Collaboration & Ecosystem Growth

Bring together government institutions, academia, industry leaders, technology companies, investors, development partners, and innovators to strengthen partnerships that advance Africa’s digital economy.

why it matters

Why DigiFest Matters

Accelerating Digital Transformation

Technology is redefining every sector—from healthcare and education to agriculture, finance, manufacturing, government, and the creative industries. DigiFest equips participants with the knowledge and confidence to embrace digital transformation and contribute meaningfully to Africa’s technological advancement.

Building Future-Ready Skills

Digital success requires more than technical knowledge—it requires adaptability, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and continuous learning. DigiFest delivers practical, industry-relevant experiences that strengthen employability, entrepreneurship, and innovation capacity.

Strengthening Africa's Innovation Ecosystem

Innovation flourishes through collaboration. DigiFest creates meaningful connections between startups, investors, researchers, academia, technology companies, government agencies, and development partners, enabling new ideas to become impactful solutions.

Empowering Young People

Africa’s youth represent one of its greatest competitive advantages. DigiFest empowers young people with mentorship, inspiration, practical skills, and access to opportunities that prepare them to become innovators, entrepreneurs, creators, and leaders within the digital economy.

Inspiring Entrepreneurship

The digital economy has lowered the barriers to starting and scaling businesses. DigiFest exposes participants to startup ecosystems, innovation frameworks, funding opportunities, and successful founders who demonstrate how technology can solve local challenges while creating sustainable businesses.

pillars

Festival Pillars

DigiFest is built around six interconnected pillars that reflect the most significant opportunities shaping Africa’s digital future.

Artificial Intelligence & Emerging Technologies

Explore how Artificial Intelligence, automation, robotics, blockchain, cloud computing, data science, and emerging technologies are transforming industries across Africa. Participants will gain practical insights into emerging innovations while discovering the skills required to thrive in tomorrow’s technology-driven economy

Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Innovation begins with solving real problems. This pillar explores design thinking, product development, startup creation, investment readiness, business strategy, and innovation ecosystems that help transform ideas into scalable businesses capable of creating lasting impact.

Future of Work

Work is changing rapidly. Participants will explore hybrid work, digital productivity, AI-powered workplaces, leadership, employability, workplace wellbeing, and the evolving skills employers increasingly value within modern organizations.

Gig Economy

The gig economy continues to redefine employment across the globe. This pillar explores freelancing, digital services, remote work, ride-hailing, logistics, platform-based employment, and online marketplaces while providing practical guidance on turning skills into sustainable income.

Creative Economy

Africa’s creator economy is growing rapidly. Participants will explore opportunities in podcasting, photography, videography, digital storytelling, gaming, social media, digital marketing, content creation, and personal branding while learning how creative talent can evolve into sustainable businesses.

Cybersecurity & Digital Trust

As societies become increasingly digital, cybersecurity has become everyone’s responsibility. This pillar explores online safety, digital resilience, ethical technology, data protection, cyber careers, and the growing demand for professionals capable of protecting digital infrastructure.

outcomes

Expected Outcomes

By the conclusion of DigiFest, participants will:

  • Develop practical digital, entrepreneurial, and professional skills applicable to today's workforce.
  • Gain a deeper understanding of emerging technologies, industries, and career opportunities.
  • Discover employment, entrepreneurship, innovation, and freelancing pathways within the digital economy.
  • Build meaningful relationships with employers, mentors, investors, and industry professionals.
  • Join a vibrant community of innovators, creators, entrepreneurs, and lifelong learners.
  • Increase their confidence to participate in Africa's rapidly growing digital economy.
  • Leave with actionable next steps for their personal, academic, or professional growth.
  • Receive an official DigiFest Certificate of Participation recognizing their engagement and commitment to digital skills development.

Brian Mwithi

Remote work specialist, career positioning expert, and recruiter

Brian is a remote work specialist, career positioning expert, and recruiter with over five years of experience, who has helped more than 2,100 professionals successfully transition into global opportunities. He works closely with individuals to identify their strengths, align them with the demands of the evolving digital job market, and refine how they present themselves, particularly on LinkedIn, to attract high-quality international employers. His approach is centered on creating clarity, enabling professionals to move beyond local limitations and position themselves competitively on a global stage. By leveraging AI-driven tools and modern job search strategies, Brian enhances professional visibility and equips his clients with a distinct competitive edge in a rapidly changing landscape. He is known for prioritizing authentic alignment over generic advice, building tailored positioning strategies that lead to meaningful opportunities, long-term career growth, and lasting professional relationships.

Amos Kimani

Founder, TausiApp | From Gospel Artist to Beauty-Tech Innovator

Amos Kimani is a visionary entrepreneur who transformed his passion for music into a revolutionary beauty-tech platform, TausiApp, changing the beauty landscape in Kenya and beyond. Born in Kahawa West, Nairobi, on May 18, 1991, Amos grew up surrounded by the vibrant energy of his neighborhood, fueled by a love for music and his mother's unwavering
support. Growing up in a modest household, Amos learned valuable lessons from his mother's resilience
and dedication at Gikomba Market, which laid the foundation for his own entrepreneurial spirit. He went on to join the acclaimed gospel group SOC, where he discovered his passion for music and the power of inspiring others — SOC became a household name, releasing popular hits and garnering awards. While on tour with SOC, the struggle to find reliable beauty service providers sparked the idea for TausiApp. Inspired by the ease of Uber, Amos founded TausiApp in 2019, leveraging
technology to connect clients with skilled beauticians. TausiApp now boasts over 32,000 clients and 6,000 service providers, transforming the beauty industry in Kenya by fostering a more
accessible, professional, and client-centered beauty industry, and empowering beauticians with tools, financial services, and opportunities to thrive.

Agnes Maina

HR Consultant, Global Recruiter, and Career Development Practitioner

Agnes Maina is an HR Consultant, Global Recruiter, and Career Development Practitioner with over five years of experience across human resources, recruitment, talent management, and people operations. She currently works as an HR Consultant with Corporate Staffing Services, supporting the Ajira Digital Program, where she brings hands-on experience in recruitment, employee relations, performance management, HR operations, and workforce development. As a recruiter and HR professional, Agnes offers a practical perspective on how talent is assessed, what makes professionals stand out to employers, and how African talent can better position itself for opportunities in an increasingly global and borderless labour market. She is passionate about digital employability, the future of work, and helping African professionals build the skills, confidence and professional presence needed to compete beyond traditional geographic boundaries. Through her career-development work, Agnes also supports professionals with CV development, LinkedIn optimisation, interview preparation and career coaching.

Tonio Kibz

Digital Media Creator, Broadcast host, Podcaster, and CEO of The Sandwich Podcast.

Tonio Kibz is a digital media creator, broadcast host, podcaster, and CEO of The Sandwich Podcast—
one of East Africa’s leading digital platforms. With a track record of driving youth culture, digital entertainment, and creative enterprise in East Africa, he specializes in building scalable media properties, navigating creator monetization, and transforming independent content into sustainable commercial ventures.

Andrew Ogango

Creative director & audio visual storyteller.

Hi, I’m Andrew Ogango. I’m the guy who will happily spend hours discussing lighting setups, visual framing, or finding the absolute best gear for a shoot. Although when it comes to titles some call me a creative, a photographer, a cinematographer, and an occasional musician, but officially, I’m a Nairobi based creative director and audio visual storyteller. I’m a huge tech enthusiast at heart, constantly exploring new software, emerging tools, and digital innovations to weave seamlessly into my production workflows. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of capturing everything from high energy events to brand campaigns and documentaries across Kenya. More than anything, I’m passionate about helping people tell stories from how they see the world by using photography, videography, and digital media as their mediums, while creating ways that their business side is able to build a legitimate, sustainable career in the creative industry.

Shiphrah Wairima

Digital Media Creator, Broadcast host, Podcaster, and CEO of The Sandwich Podcast.

Shiphrah Wairima is a Cybersecurity & Responsible AI leader, advocate, and featured speaker. She serves as President of the Kenya Chapter at the Global Council for Responsible AI and leads
WomenTech Kenya, championing responsible AI development and increased women participation in tech across Africa. Her mission is to empower people, organizations, and communities to navigate the digital world safely, ethically, and affordably. Shiphrah works with non-technical leaders, SMEs, institutions, and underrepresented communities, translating cybersecurity and AI into practical, accessible guidance. She has supported 500+ individuals into tech and freelancing careers, delivered numerous trainings and workshops on cybersecurity, AI ethics, and digital safety, and helped organizations implement budget-conscious security strategies. Her work focuses on human-centered cybersecurity, responsible AI governance, affordable cyber hygiene, and talent empowerment through mentorship and training.

Bobby Owuor

Kenyan filmmaker, writer, director, and lifestyle content creator

Bobby Owuor is a Kenyan filmmaker, writer, director, and lifestyle content creator known for his cinematic storytelling and distinctive creative style. With a passion for turning everyday moments into compelling stories, Bobby blends filmmaking, fashion, culture, and lifestyle to create content that feels both authentic and cinematic. His ambition is simple: to put Kenyan storytelling on the global stage and become one of Africa’s most influential creative voices.

Barrack Bukusi

Podcast Founder & Host

Over ten years’ experience and success as both an entrepreneur and intrapreneur at the intersection of media, entertainment, and technology. A curator of several media products and content, I am the curator of three podcasts featured in Spotify’s 2023 Breakout Creator Podcasts. I have worked with multiple stakeholders across the creative economy and leveraged content strategically to secure favorable returns on investment, drive impactful outcomes, increase product visibility, spearhead successful fundraising campaigns, facilitate sales conversions, and foster the development of engaged communities. I also co-founded and host the Financially Incorrect Podcast, one of the top financial podcasts in East Africa.

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