The eighth edition of the African Science, Technology, and Innovation Forum (ASTIF 2026) will take place in Addis Ababa on April 26-27, hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Themed: “Achieving progress towards the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 through transformative and coordinated actions in science, technology, and digital innovation,” the forum will focus on turning successful national initiatives into continent-wide solutions.

Africa has demonstrated remarkable technological achievements, from Rwanda’s drone delivery systems for medical logistics to Kenya’s integration of off-grid solar power with mobile money platforms. Nigeria’s digital payments ecosystem and South Africa’s vaccine manufacturing advancements exemplify the continent’s capacity for impactful innovation.

The challenge now is to establish structured pathways for these solutions to scale beyond borders, fostering regional and continental integration, ECA said.

ASTIF 2026 will convene governments, regional economic communities, academia, private sector actors, and international partners to align efforts and drive coordinated actions.

The forum aims to develop strategies for regulatory reform, cross-border technology transfer, and mobilization of financing that will enable successful models to expand across Africa, strengthening health, energy, financial inclusion, and climate resilience.

This gathering, according to the organizers, will mark a pivotal step toward transforming Africa’s innovation landscape into an integrated architecture capable of delivering measurable, continent-wide impact.

ASTIF was established in 2018, by the decision of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, in which the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in collaboration with the African Union Commission and other partners, was called upon to take all steps necessary to organize on a regular basis a multi-stakeholder forum on science, technology and innovation as an input into the work of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development.

The eighth Forum is specifically designed to foster the diffusion of technology and innovation and the scaling-up of policy and operational efforts needed to accelerate the contribution of science, technology and innovation to the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda, the ECA said in a pre-event statement.

Accordingly, collaborative arrangements and partnerships will be established among African universities and their partners inside and outside Africa; platforms will be explored for the exchange among public and private partners of information on research, funding, innovations and institutions to accelerate technology transfer; and opportunities will be sought to showcase high-impact technologies, innovators, firms, and research and development institutions that are making significant contributions to development.