Addis Ababa will serve as the venue for a high-level Artificial Intelligence (AI) Leadership Forum on February 17, 2026, convened by OpenAI in partnership with ALX and the Africa Fintech Summit (AFTS), Shega reports. 

The event, scheduled at the ALX Capstone Tech Hub in Lideta during African Union Summit Week, will bring together business leaders, policymakers, start-ups, educators, and technologists to evaluate Africa’s preparedness and role in the rapidly expanding AI economy.

Organizers said that the forum comes amid growing urgency over how AI is adopted and governed across the continent. As the technology moves from an emerging tool to a foundational element of infrastructure, the critical question is no longer whether African nations will engage with AI, but whether they can build, govern, and derive tangible benefits from it. 

The program will operate under the theme Talent, Infrastructure, and Opportunity in Africa, structured around four interconnected pillars: Africa’s position in the global AI ecosystem; representation of African talent, languages, and cultural context in AI systems; long-term competitive advantages through energy, compute, data, and infrastructure; and regulatory readiness for an AI-first decade, according to Shega.

Emmanuel Lubanzadio, Africa Lead at OpenAI, is set to deliver a keynote and participate in a fireside discussion examining how leadership in AI can translate into practical pathways for adoption and governance across African markets. Shega notes that he highlighted OpenAI’s engagement across the continent, including the launch of the OpenAI Academy in Lagos last year. “Africa is home to some of the world’s most creative, resourceful problem-solvers,” Lubanzadio said. “We want to make sure they have the tools to turn their ideas into impact and that AI reflects African voices and priorities.”

Mirafe Gebriel Marcos, Country Manager for Ethiopia at Sand Technologies, ALX’s parent company, said that early investment in talent is crucial. She emphasized that the forum aims to equip young Africans not only to use AI tools but to build, apply, and govern them, leveraging the continent’s demographic advantage.