The Pan African AI Summit (PAAIS) team announced today that Mr Lacina Koné, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of Smart Africa, will speak at PAAIS 2026, which will take place on 22–23 September 2026 at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, Accra.

Smart Africa is the African Union–endorsed alliance of 40 member states committed to accelerating the continent's digital transformation. Under Mr Koné's leadership since 2019, the alliance has developed continental blueprints for digital identity, broadband, ICT start-up ecosystems, and, most recently, a continental push to coordinate Africa's approach to artificial intelligence, including the establishment of an Africa AI Council under the continent's ICT ministers.

His participation positions the Pan African AI & Innovation Summit 2026 as the gathering for continental AI policy and practical adoption, joining a featured speaker line-up that includes Hon. Samuel Nartey George, Ghana's Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations; Darlington Akogo, Founder & CEO of minoHealth AI Labs; Dr G. Ayorkor Korsah of Ashesi University; Mr Reuben Opata, Chief Technology Officer at MTN; Prof John Jerry Kponyo, KNUST and Ghana AI Strategy Leader; and Danny Manu, award-winning innovator and CEO of Mymanu, UK.

Felix Donkor, Summit Director and Convenor of PAAIS, said: “Africa's AI moment will not be decided in one capital city or one boardroom. It will be built through the kind of continental coordination that Smart Africa exists to deliver. Welcoming Mr Koné to Accra connects delegates, innovators and investors in our halls directly to the agenda shaping AI policy across 40 African nations. For our partners and sponsors, there is now no better place on the continent to be on 22-23 September.”

Mr Lacina Koné, Director General & CEO, Smart Africa, said in his response: “I am pleased to confirm my participation and would be honoured to contribute as a Featured Speaker in the high-level Policy & Partnerships plenary. We look forward to engaging in this important dialogue alongside fellow leaders”.

He affirmed that Artificial intelligence is the defining opportunity of Africa's digital decade. “Platforms like the Pan African AI Summit matter because they bring policy, enterprise and talent into the same room”.

PAAIS 2026 builds on the inaugural 2025 edition, which brought together 1,000 delegates from more than 30 countries. The 2026 summit expects more than 1,800 registered delegates and features a two-day programme including keynotes, ministerial dialogues and roundtables, the AI Hackathon pitch competition for start-ups (underwritten by the Estonian Business Angel Network, EstBAN), an AI Masterclass, an executive exhibition in the Adlon Foyer, and pre-summit networking activations.

Sponsorship, exhibition and delegate registration are open at panafricanaisummit.com.

About the Pan African AI Summit (PAAIS)

PAAIS is the flagship gathering for artificial intelligence and innovation across Africa, in partnership with the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology & Innovation; the University of Ghana Digital Youth Village; Brandeis University School for Global Development & Sustainability; the Ministry of Youth Development & Empowerment; and the Estonian Business Angel Network. The summit convenes government, enterprise, academia, investors and builders to accelerate responsible AI adoption on the continent.

About Smart Africa

Smart Africa is an alliance of 31 African countries, international organisations and global private-sector players tasked with advancing Africa’s digital agenda. The alliance is empowered by a bold and innovative commitment from African Heads of State to accelerate sustainable socioeconomic development on the continent and usher Africa into the knowledge economy through affordable broadband access and the use of ICTs.

With a vision to create a single digital market in Africa by 2030, the Smart Africa Alliance brings together Heads of State who seek to accelerate the continent’s digitalisation and create a common market. Launched in 2013 by seven (7) African Heads of State, the Alliance now has 31 member countries, representing over 750 million people, and over 40 private-sector members committed to the vision and the advancement of Africa.