Arusha to host Africa’s first premier AI conference
ARUSHA: FOR the first time in East Africa’s history, Arusha city is set to make history as it hosts the Africa Premier AI Conference (APAIC 2025)—a landmark international gathering dedicated to the digital transformation and advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across the continent.
The four-day summit, scheduled for the last Monday of this month, will draw global attention to East Africa’s expanding role in shaping the future of technology and innovation.
APAIC 2025 Chairperson and CEO, Abdulwahid Ali Khamis, said yesterday that the time has come for Africa to define its destiny in the realm of AI and digital transformation.
“This is Africa’s moment to decide its future in artificial intelligence,” said Mr Khamis ahead of the event.
“Under the theme ‘The Largest End-of-Year AI Conference: Decoding Agentic AI for Africa’s Social and Economic Transformation’, APAIC 2025 will bring together more than 1,200 delegates, 150 speakers, and participants from over 40 countries.”
This year’s theme—“The Agentic AI Revolution: Towards a Future of Innovation, Autonomy, and Human Empowerment” sets the stage for a profound exploration of how AI systems capable of independent learning, reasoning, and decision-making can fuel a new era of innovation, inclusivity, and sustainable economic growth across Africa.
Unlike many technology forums, APAIC 2025 is designed to go beyond discussion and theory. It aims to forge actionable partnerships between governments, private sector leaders, investors and innovators—all working together to establish inclusive and responsible AI ecosystems across key sectors such as healthcare, education, business, agriculture and governance.
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“Africa is at a decisive turning point,” Mr Khamis said, “We can continue importing technologies that do not reflect our values, or we can create intelligent systems grounded in African data, ethics and priorities. That transformation begins here, in Arusha.”
The conference is being organised in partnership with ScanCode Tanzania, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, COSTECK HAM International, and international partners including ai (USA) — a leading innovator in the field of Agentic AI and adaptive intelligence.
Through this collaboration, APAIC 2025 aims to shape a new continental agenda focused on building AI awareness, strengthening innovation ecosystems and promoting ethical digital governance.
The vision is bold: to make APAIC 2025 not just an event, but a movement for lasting digital empowerment and sovereignty across Africa.
Among the most anticipated moments of APAIC 2025 will be the unveiling of The Dawn Directive — the world’s first AI awareness and competence framework, developed with the help of Agentic AI technology.
This groundbreaking initiative will serve as a guiding blueprint for AI education and ethical innovation across Africa, targeting policymakers, industry professionals and educational institutions.
In addition, delegates will witness the signing of the Mombasa Declaration on Agentic AI, a continental accord designed to establish a unified African roadmap for AI governance, investment and responsible data ethics.
APAIC 2025 will bring together an impressive roster of attendees, including African ministers and policymakers, technology CEOs, investors, researchers, AI educators and civil society leaders committed to driving inclusive and ethical AI adoption.
Conference Director Anthony Nivo said AI is not the technology of tomorrow, it is the technology of today.
“Hosting APAIC 2025 in Arusha is a historic milestone. This is where leadership, creativity and purpose converge to shape how Africa will navigate the AI revolution.”
Ultimately, APAIC 2025 represents more than a conference — it is a call to action. By uniting policymakers, innovators and industry leaders, the event seeks to lay the foundations, knowledge and systems that will define an intelligent, innovative, and self-reliant Africa.
