African Leadership in Science: Solutions by and for Africa

This session brings Africa’s innovation story to the global stage. It will highlight success stories, expose systemic gaps and call for renewed political will to build inclusive, climate-smart STI ecosystems that drive long-term resilience, advance the SDGs and secure a prosperous future for the continent.

Africa, a continent rich in human ingenuity and natural resources, stands at a critical juncture. It faces the urgent task of achieving inclusive socio-economic development while navigating intensifying climate impacts, ecological constraints and a shifting global financing landscape.

Tackling these and other pressing challenges such as food insecurity, poverty and building climate resilience demands bold, context-specific innovations grounded in science and driven by local leadership.

And the continent is rising to the challenge. From Nigeria to Rwanda, Kenya to Senegal, a wave of homegrown innovation is taking root across the continent. Whether cutting-edge ag-tech, digital health platforms or climate-smart energy solutions, African-led innovation is transforming lives, strengthening economies, and building resilience in diverse contexts.

Among these, ag-tech stands out as a vibrant frontier, demonstrating how African ingenuity can drive food system transformation, create jobs, build resilience, and reduce poverty. It e reinforces the belief that sustainable development in Africa must be African-led, anchored in local innovation, informed by global experience backed and supported by strong science, technology and innovation (STI) ecosystems.

Yet despite this momentum, too many innovations fail to scale. Fragmented support systems, weak policy frameworks, and underinvestment in STI continue to hold back progress. Scientific breakthroughs alone are not enough, they must be matched by robust enabling environments shaped by governments through coherent policies, strategic investment, and regulatory clarity.