The session will begin with a short overview of how venture capital works, when it is an appropriate funding route, and how investment stages shape investor expectations. Then, we will explore how investors assess opportunities, including the importance of market potential, traction, team, business model, and potential returns. The workshop’s core will then guide participants through the structure of a compelling pitch deck. Sample slides will illustrate what strong presentations do well and where founders commonly lose investor interest.

Date: 20 October 2026 – 12:00 SAST / CEST

You are cordially invited to join an inspiring global gathering of researchers, educators, innovators, policymakers, environmentalists, health professionals, students, and sustainability champions at the 4th International Virtual Climate Change Education Summit 2026.This event shall feature seminar presentations, workshops, research collaboration opportunities, mentorship and networking sessions aimed at exploring artificial intelligence for climate resilience, good health and well-being. As the world confronts the growing challenges of climate change, there is an urgent need for innovative solutions that can protect our environment, strengthen community resilience, and promote healthy and sustainable societies. This Summit provides a dynamic platform to explore how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can transform climate change education, environmental protection, healthcare, sustainable development, and climate resilience.Come and connect with distinguished experts, share knowledge, discover innovative ideas, build meaningful collaborations, and contribute to shaping a greener and healthier future.

Official Registration Link: rebrand.ly/IVCCES2026

(Zoom Link Shall Be Forwarded To Registered Participants A Few Days Before The Event)

Your voice, ideas and participation matter. Be part of the change. Be part of the solution. Join us!

⚠️ Important notice

Funding opportunities and other content listed on AEIP may be submitted by members or third parties. While the AEIP team carries out light moderation and may remove inappropriate or misleading content when identified, opportunities are not individually verified or endorsed by AEIP.

Before applying, sharing personal information, making payments or entering into agreements, users should independently verify the legitimacy of the opportunity and the organisation behind it. AEIP and the project consortium cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness or legitimacy of third-party content or external websites.

Date: 28–29 October 2026
Venue: Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa

AI Expo Africa 2026 returns for its 9th edition as Africa’s leading business-focused Artificial Intelligence (AI), Intelligent Automation, Robotics, and Smart Technology trade show and conference. The event brings together enterprise buyers, technology providers, startups, investors, researchers, policymakers, and innovators from across Africa and around the world to explore practical AI applications and emerging technologies.

Whether you are looking to discover new AI solutions, connect with potential partners, showcase your innovations, or gain insights into the latest industry trends, AI Expo Africa provides an excellent platform for networking, collaboration, and business development.

Event Highlights

• Two-day AI and Smart Technology Trade Expo
• Four-track conference programme featuring keynote speakers, expert panels, and enterprise case studies
• More than 100 exhibitors showcasing AI and digital technologies
• Startup Zone and Investor Matchmaking
• Women in AI Pavilion
• AI Research & Development Zone
• Robot & Drone Zone
• Executive CxO Roundtables
• CPD-accredited workshops
• Dedicated networking sessions and community meetups

Who Should Attend?

The event is relevant for:

• Startups and scaleups
• Innovation Support Organisations (ISOs/ESOs)
• Researchers and universities
• SMEs and corporates
• Investors and venture capital firms
• Government representatives
• AI practitioners and technology providers
• Policymakers and ecosystem builders

Event Snapshot

• 3,500+ expected delegates
• 1,800+ companies represented
• 100+ exhibitors
• 84% senior decision-makers
• 78 hours of conference content
• 12 CPD-accredited workshops

Learn More

Interested participants can find additional information directly from the event organisers.

The festival positions itself as a high-impact meeting point for startup deal flow, investor engagement, and ecosystem collaboration, with strong participation from C-level executives, founders, and venture capital stakeholders.

Key Highlights

• 1,490+ attendees, with a strong concentration of C-level participants
• 100+ facilitated meetings focused on partnerships and investment
• 40+ speakers from across the African innovation ecosystem
• Estimated $20M+ in deals and partnerships generated through the platform

Why Attend

The event is structured around four core value areas:

• Networking: Direct access to founders, investors, and industry leaders across Africa’s startup ecosystem
• Innovation exposure: Sessions focused on emerging technologies, market trends, and disruptive business models
• Funding access: Opportunities to pitch to investors and explore seed, growth, and strategic funding options
• Brand visibility: Platform for startups and companies to showcase solutions to a targeted innovation audience
• Ecosystem impact: Engagement in discussions around scaling African innovation and addressing continental challenges

The Africa-Europe Innovation Platform (AEIP) invites all AEIP stakeholders to a practical webinar exploring how diaspora engagement can unlock investment, facilitate cross-border market access, and strengthen collaboration between African and European innovation ecosystems.

Through two panel discussions and facilitated breakout sessions, the discussion will explore how Entrepreneurship Support Organisations (ESOs) and Business Support Organisations (BSOs) can collaborate with diaspora entrepreneurs, experts, investors and funders to unlock opportunities for startups, strengthen cross-border partnerships, and create more inclusive opportunities for diaspora women and young professionals. Participants will also explore strategies for attracting diaspora entrepreneurs and funding, connecting startups to international markets, and building lasting networks for mentorship and knowledge exchange.

Who should attend?

• Business Support Organisations (BSOs)
• Entrepreneurship Support Organisations (ESOs)
• Startups, SMEs, and Corporates
• Diaspora entrepreneurs and experts
• Investors and funders
• Academia
• Civil society organisations
• Policymakers.

Date: Thursday, 29 October 2026
Time: 14:00 SAST / 13:00 CET
Format: Online via Microsoft Teams

Hosted by the Africa-Europe Innovation Platform (AEIP) and organised with the ENRICH in Africa Center (EiAC). Funded by the European Union.

The Africa-Europe Innovation Dialogues are coming to Africa!

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In-person registrations close on 19 October 2026.

About the event

The Africa-Europe Innovation Platform (AEIP) warmly invites innovation stakeholders to Africa-Europe Innovation Dialogues 2026: Ideas in motion. Partnerships in action!

Following the successful first edition in Brussels last year, the 2026 edition heads to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Join innovators from across Africa and Europe in Abidjan for one and a half days of dialogue and collaboration.

This gathering of African and European stakeholders from across the value chain – from start-ups, universities, academia, to civil society – will provide ample opportunities for networking and finding partners for innovation cooperation. The event will adopt a bilingual English-French format, to bring out the best out of the diversity and richness of Anglophone and Francophone innovation communities.

Abidjan

West Africa’s innovation crossroads

As one of Africa’s leading innovation and economic hubs, Abidjan provides the ideal setting to connect ecosystems and build the partnerships that drive sustainable growth and impact across the continent and beyond.

The programme will actively spotlight voices from Côte d’Ivoire’s innovation ecosystem, explored through two lenses:

1. The stakeholder communities driving change on the ground
2. The thematic areas connecting Ivorian, African and European priorities.

Programme at a glance

Experience Web Summit

One event, countless opportunities.

Web Summit brings together the global technology community in Lisbon for four days of talks, networking, innovation and collaboration. The 2026 event will take place from 9 – 12 November 2026 at the MEO Arena in Lisbon.

Web Summit brings together founders, investors, technology leaders, policymakers, media and innovators from across the global tech ecosystem. The event provides opportunities to connect with industry leaders, discover emerging technologies and explore the ideas shaping the future of technology.

What to expect

The 2026 programme features a range of dedicated summits and tracks, including AI, Venture, MoneyConf, Policy, Energy, Marketing and Future of Work, alongside meetups and other opportunities to connect with the community.

Participants can also explore dedicated opportunities for startups, investors, exhibitors and media, making Web Summit a platform for building connections across the technology ecosystem.

2026 Highlights

• AI Summit exploring the evolution of physical AI, AI agents and AI governance.
• Venture Summit focused on venture capital, startups and global investment.
• MoneyConf exploring the future of financial technology and payments.
• Policy Summit examining technology, geopolitics and the future of Europe.
• Meetups bringing together communities around areas including AI ethics, medtech and agritech.

The network connects researchers across the continent to examine how learning processes, innovation systems, and competence building drive economic and social transformation. Its activities include international conferences, training programmes, PhD academies, fellowships, and networking opportunities designed to strengthen research capacity and address under-researched areas relevant to Africa’s development challenges.

AfricaLics conferences convene a diverse community of participants from academia, government, industry, civil society, and international development organisations. The programme typically features world-class keynote speakers, high-level policy dialogues linking research to practice, and cutting-edge research presentations by both established and emerging scholars. Participants also benefit from dedicated networking opportunities, including exhibitions and social events, fostering collaboration and long-term partnerships.

Paper Submissions

Conference Theme:
Critical, Retrospective and Creative Perspectives on Innovation and Society in Africa

The 7th AfricaLics Conference seeks to critically reflect on the relationship between innovation and society in Africa, examining power, inequality, and the social dimensions of innovation in the digital age. It calls for new and forward-thinking approaches to achieving shared development goals across Africa and globally.

You can submit for paper and poster presentations. A limited number of conference registrations will be available for organisers of and presenters in thematic sessions – special panels, posters, plenary workshops (curated), and roundtables – approved by the Scientific Conference Committee. 

Sub-Themes

• Historical, Theoretical and Conceptual Perspectives on Innovation and Development
• Political Economy Challenges for Innovation in Africa
• Digital Revolution, AI, and the African Gig Economy
• The Creative Sector, Arts, and Innovation
• African Knowledge Traditions and Innovation Systems
• Sustainability-Oriented Innovation (Energy, Water, Agriculture, Manufacturing, etc.)
• Innovation Policies and Socio-Economic Transformation (STISA 2034, Agenda 2063, SDGs)
• Financing Innovation in Key Economic Sectors
• Innovation for Sustainable Health and Wellbeing
• Inclusive Innovation, Education and Development (Gender, Youth, Disability)

Powering Africa’s Digital Future

Africa Tech Festival is the continent’s leading platform for technology, innovation and digital transformation, bringing together the people and organisations shaping Africa’s digital future. The 29th edition will take place in Cape Town, connecting telecom operators, technology leaders, enterprises, startups, investors, governments and regulators from across Africa and beyond.

The 2026 programme is built around six interconnected pillars shaping the continent’s digital growth:

• Telecoms & Connectivity – Connectivity and services for everyone in Africa
• Data Centres – Creating AI infrastructure to power growth
• AI – How AI will drive economic growth
• Cybersecurity – Ensuring safety and resilience of digital services
• Startups – Unleashing entrepreneurial power
• Digital Transformation – How cloud, fintech and SaaS can power growth

Across the festival, attendees can discover the trends shaping connectivity, AI, enterprise technology and digital infrastructure, access industry-leading content, connect with decision-makers and build partnerships across the ecosystem.

Africa Tech Festival brings together telecom operators, hyperscalers, investors and enterprise technology leaders from across Africa, providing opportunities for startups to exhibit, pitch to investors and connect with enterprise buyers through dedicated startup programmes and networking.

Key Information

Expo & Content Sessions: 17-19 November 2026
VIP & Partner Events: 16 -19 November 2026
Venue: Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), Cape Town

The event will be jointly organised by the European Commission through the ECCP, in collaboration with the Department of the Small Business Development (DSBD), and Enterprise Europe Network (EEN).

The EU–South Africa Matchmaking Event will bring together cluster organisations and SMEs from the European Union (EU), non-EU countries participating in the Single Market Programme/COSME Strand[1], and South Africa. It will provide participants an excellent chance to promote Cluster to Cluster (C2C), Cluster to Business (C2B), and Business to Business (B2B) collaborations.

Africa Tech Festival is one of Africa’s leading technology and innovation events. In 2025, the event welcomed more than 350 exhibitors, 13 500 visitors and 250 distinguished speakers. The event brings together technology companies, industry leaders, research organisations, policymakers and innovation stakeholders from across Africa and internationally. Participation will provide European cluster organisations and SMEs with opportunities to engage with South Africa’s innovation ecosystem, identify potential partners and establish new business and collaboration opportunities.

Website
https://www.clustercollaboration.eu/content/eu-south-africa-matchmaking-event-cape-town-2026

Hosted by the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Innovation of the Republic of Benin, with the endorsement of the President of the Republic of Benin, This year’s Gathering will bring together more than 1,200 innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, researchers, corporates, development partners and ecosystem leaders from Africa and beyond.

AAG is AfriLabs’ flagship global convening and a leading platform for dialogue, collaboration and knowledge exchange across Africa’s innovation ecosystem. Over the years, the Gathering has become a launchpad for strategic partnerships and investment, high-level policy conversations, innovation showcases, masterclasses, technical labs, sector-focused discussions and experiences celebrating African creativity and talent.

The planet’s most founder-focused event and largest venture capital gathering

Slush is the world’s leading startup event, bringing together a curated crowd of European startups, world-class investors, and tech journalists.

The 2026 event will take place on 18 – 19 November in Helsinki, with 12,000+ attendees, 5,800 startups, 3,300 investors and 200+ speakers expected to participate. Slush is built around relevance over scale, bringing tangible value and sharing actionable company-building advice.

What to expect

Slush brings together the core of the startup ecosystem under one roof, with opportunities to:

• Connect founders with investors and other key players in the startup ecosystem.
• Take part in 20,000+ meetings through the Slush Meeting Tool.
• Access hands-on company-building advice and practical insights.
• Participate in mentoring and investor office hours.
• Explore 600+ side events taking place across Helsinki during Slush Week.
• Build connections through networking, stage talks, dinners, drinks and other community activities.

Slush is industry-agnostic and built for early-stage tech founders, with startups represented across sectors including SaaS, healthtech, fintech, AI, gaming, deeptech, medtech, energy, edtech and manufacturing.

Location: Helsinki Expo and Convention Center (Messukeskus), Messuaukio 1, 00520 Helsinki.