Here are 9 notable African tech events to attend in 2023

Hurray! The year 2023 has arrived; as always, a new year can signify the beginning of something new or the expansion of an already-established phenomenon.

For the tech ecosystem, the new year can be an opportunity to build on the existing strides made in the previous year or maybe try to turn around the lows that might have been experienced in 2022. Whichever way it goes, it allows everyone to make something out of the many options it brings along.

With the quick penetration of technology across a wide range of industrial sectors in recent years, it has become critical for all key players and tech enthusiasts to stay informed of the rapidly changing technology landscape to stay afloat. 

To reiterate, joining a vibrant, inclusive tech community where learning and growth are possible is something every tech enthusiast should look forward to doing this year.

Another is tech events. Tech events and conferences are some of the most effective yet underappreciated ways for individuals and businesses to stay informed by sharing information and networking.

In this article, we are helping our audience get the best of the year by bringing prominent tech events to look out for in 2023. We believe these events will provide exciting yet informative packages that will be helpful for attendees.

These are Technext’s 9 biggest events to watch out for in 2023, in no particular order.

Read also: Here are Africa’s biggest 5 tech events in 2022

GITEX Africa, Marrakech

GITEX GLOBAL, the annual showcasing of international technology giants and start-ups in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), announced that it would hold the first edition of GITEX Africa to recognise the continent’s potential for technical developments and its growing demand for innovation. 

GITEX is arguably the largest technology exhibition in the world, and GITEX AFRICA, the first of its kind, will take place from May 31 to June 2, 2023, in Marrakech, Morocco.

Morocco has always been a destination of choice, hosting a large international community and having a favourable business environment that ranks it 1st among 141 countries in inflation stability and the World’s 5th most competitive destination for Tech R&D.

GITEX AFRICA in explaining the choice of location

The summit will draw attention from the global community to the continent’s enormous potential and help to create a vision for a digital economy that is more interconnected, sustainable, inclusive, and tech-driven.

It will also feature prominent tech players, trends, and verticals. It will also cover conversations about smart cities, cybersecurity, the data economy, mobility, healthcare and telecoms. The event will host about 20,000+ traders and buyers, 120+ government delegations, over 500 exhibitors and more than 300 startups.

You can pre-register for the summit using this link.

The Africa Tech Festival, Cape Town

Just like its previous editions, the Africa Tech Festival, arguably one of Africa’s biggest events in 2022, given its coverage and scope, the attendees, the speakers and its impact on the social space in Africa, is coming back in 2023.

The annual conference is divided into two main anchor events – AfricaCom and AfricaTech.

These separate events in 2022 explored digital inclusion, connectivity infrastructure, and telecom modernization. Investment in digital infrastructure. It also delved into how cutting-edge technology fusion across industry verticals enables enterprise transformation.

After achieving over 45% buy-side audience, with more than 8,600 digital attendees, 5,400 attending companies, over 400 industry thought leaders, and 600 exhibitors cumulatively, pre-registration is already ongoing for the 2023 edition.

According to the organizers, last year’s event saw 12,000+ attendees reconnect in Cape Town for 4 days of exciting content and networking, marking 25 years of uniting Africa’s tech ecosystems and industry verticals.

Technext Coinference, Lagos

Technext Coinference is the largest Blockchain gathering out of Africa and has successfully held two editions. 2023 would be witnessing the third edition of the annually held conference.

The conference brings together blockchain experts and enthusiasts from around the continent to engage and discuss how revolutionary technology can be enhanced and reformed to help Africans make the best out of it.

Last year’s event centred on the theme: Blockchain and DeFi: Beyond the Hype, and the scope of the conversation covered the possibilities of Blockchain, Crypto, Web3 and the DeFi for Africa.

The theme helped to provide a frontier and insight into the future of Blockchain technology for the continent as experts in the industry shared ideas in different sessions.

This year’s conference would look at engaging in similar discussions around Blockchain and the solutions accompanying its disruption. It will be held on the 2nd of October, 2023. You can pre-register to attend the event here.

Read also: Techpoint Build, Technext Coinference and the biggest tech events to watch out for in 2022

Art of Technology (AOT), Lagos

Art of Technology (AOT) Lagos is arguably one of the largest tech events held in Nigeria to forge a productive ecosystem for arguably Nigeria’s biggest tech hub, Lagos.

The conference brings together key stakeholders from the public and private sectors to discuss policies and initiatives that will pave the way for the evolution of a more innovative, digital, efficient, and competitive Lagos.

Last year’s theme centred on Talent Acceleration and A Smarter Lagos and witnessed over 32,000 registered participants across 109 countries and 6 continents. It also focused on creating a roadmap to widen the talent acceleration pipeline to achieve talent sustainability that will strengthen Lagos’ position as the tech capital city of Africa.

After a successful fourth edition (4.0) last year, which was organized by Eko Innovation Centre NG & Lagos State Government, much anticipation is on the fifth edition of the tech event.

Africa Tech Summit, Nairobi

The Africa Tech Summit is a summit that connects tech leaders from the African ecosystem and international players under one roof.

Since its inception, the Tech Summit has hosted over ten events in Kigali, London, Washington DC, Shanghai, and the last edition in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Africa Tech Summit for this year will take place twice, with two separate events in Accra, Ghana, and Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya’s event is scheduled for February 16–17, while Accra’s Money and DeFi Summit West Africa is scheduled for October 3–4, 2023.

These distinct summits would offer a platform for networking with important participants, such as tech corporations, mobile operators, fintech, DeFi & crypto enterprises, investors, prominent start-ups, regulators, and industry stakeholders moving business and investment forward.

AfricaNXT, Lagos

AfricaNXT is one of the largest gatherings of innovators across Nigeria and Africa. Heading into its 11th year, it continues to be the premiere gathering for Africa-focused innovators.

It seeks to create a space, both online and offline, to celebrate African ingenuity and empower the creatives, entrepreneurs, organizers, and remarkable all-around individuals moving Africa forward.

AfricaNXT 2023 with a theme: Cooperate. Collaborate. Innovate. Unlocking Our Potential, Ensuring Africa’s Prosperity, will be a point of convergence for thousand of African creatives, entrepreneurs, innovators, policymakers, organizers, academics, brands and organizations committed to the overall prosperity of the continent.

The conference schedule is complemented by exciting installations and festival activities that explore the issues covered during the week. The event, scheduled for February 6–10, will include six stages, more than 400 speakers, and 150 seminars.

Blockchain Conference, Johannesburg

Bitcoin Events’ flagship event, the Blockchain Africa Conference, returns on 16-17 March 2023 for the 9th edition as a hybrid edition: a physical conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, while other participants worldwide can join virtually.

The Blockchain Africa Conference is a summit that captivates and educates a global audience as Bitcoin Events continues to educate the African community, spread awareness and encourage networking within the space.

The conferences have attracted more than 9000 attendees from 160 countries over their nine-year history, beginning with the inaugural Bitcoin Africa Conference in 2015 (later renamed Blockchain Africa Conference). They have also presented the best practices in blockchain and cryptocurrency innovation and disruption.

A focus on how blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are changing how business is done globally and on the African continent will be one of the things to expect, along with world-class speakers from around the world and the local community, 1000+ attendees from around the world, and incredible insights, debates, and panel discussions.

You can pre-register to attend the event here.

Future of Commerce, Virtual (tbc)

The Future of Commerce is a conference that brings some of the world’s most influential business leaders together to discuss the present and future of Africa’s commerce. High-level conversations involving business leaders, experts, and operators discuss how social media, payments, logistics and other sectors are powering the growth of Africa’s commerce.

The hybrid event, joined by over 5,000 players and enthusiasts across Africa, virtually and in-person, offers operators in payments, e-commerce, logistics, cryptocurrency, and adjacent sectors an excellent opportunity to be informed on trends in their sectors and leverage them by building networks with the major players in the industry.

In 2021, the Future of Commerce touched on all the changes coming to “how we buy and sell”, exploring trends across four key sectors – fintech, e-commerce, logistics and mobility. Last year, FOC explored the innovative ways in which startups and large corporations cater to the needs of the informal sector.

Read also: GAT Summit: What is the role of proper governance in ease of doing business?

DevFest, Lagos

DevFest is an annual developers’ festival. It comprises sessions, workshops, training, code labs, and more. Excellent speakers and experts facilitate these events to help young developers understand the trends of the ecosystem and how to maximise their skills and opportunities.

It is also a large-scale community-run event that offers speaker sessions across Google product areas, workshops, code labs, or hackathons. It is organized by fellow developers who are organizers of several Google Developer Groups.

Last year’s edition featured Mental Health, Mobile, Design, Web, Cloud, DevOps, Machine Learning, and many more sessions. And with over 30,000 people directly and indirectly impacted since its inception in Lagos, Nigeria, This year’s edition will be coming even bigger and better and is expected to feature physical, in-person audiences.

The benefits of attending tech events are numerous to aspiring techies, investors, enthusiasts and all members of the public. Which of these events are you looking forward to the most?