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Nairobi will next week host the Africa Blockchain Festival 2026, which brings together policymakers, regulators, investors, founders, developers, financial institutions and technology leaders.
The three-day event, from October 15 to 17, will see conversations around the future of Africa’s digital economy at the Sarit Expo Centre with the theme being “Capital, Code, and Continuity: Building Africa’s Permanent Digital Economy.”
The festival comes at a time when the continent is examining how blockchain, digital assets, artificial intelligence, tokenization and new financial technologies can move beyond experimentation and become part of the infrastructure supporting trade, payments, investment and entrepreneurship.
The Blockchain Festival Founder Olubunmi Fabwano, said that Nairobi playing host reflects the city’s growing importance in shaping the continent’s next phase of digital development.
“Nairobi has already shown the world that Africa does not have to wait for somebody else to define the future of financial technology,” he said.
“Kenya changed the way people think about mobile money. The question now is what happens when we apply that same African ingenuity to blockchain, digital assets, artificial intelligence, tokenization and the next generation of financial infrastructure.”
Talks will seek to move beyond cryptocurrency trading and market speculation to exploring practical applications of emerging technologies in cross-border payments, financial inclusion, digital identity, investment, real-world asset tokenization, trade, the creator economy and start-up financing.
“For too long, Africa has been treated mainly as a market for technologies developed somewhere else,” said Fabwano.
“That has to change. We have developers, entrepreneurs, regulators, financial institutions and some of the youngest digital consumers in the world. Africa Blockchain Festival is about bringing those people into the same room and asking a very simple question: what are we going to build for ourselves?”
The 2026 theme reflects on financing, builders and regulation in the continent and the festival will also focus on the relationship between innovation and regulation.
“The real test is whether we can build companies, institutions and infrastructure that are still creating jobs, attracting investment and solving problems five or ten years from now. That is what we mean by continuity. We want a permanent digital economy, not a temporary technology trend,” said Fabwano.
Among the leaders expected to participate are Dr. Emomotimi Agama, Director General of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission; Professor Bitange Ndemo, Daniel Mainda, CEO of the Nairobi International Financial Centre; Dr. Nkundwe Mwasaga of Tanzania’s ICT Commission; and representatives from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, financial institutions and technology businesses from across the continent.
“We want people to leave the Festival understanding that blockchain is not simply about buying and selling tokens,” said Fabwano.
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Nairobi will next week host the Africa Blockchain Festival 2026, which brings together policymakers, regulators, investors, founders, developers, financial institutions and technology leaders.
The three-day event, from October 15 to 17, will see conversations around the future of Africa’s digital economy at the Sarit Expo Centre with the theme being “Capital, Code, and Continuity: Building Africa’s Permanent Digital Economy.”
The festival comes at a time when the continent is examining how blockchain, digital assets, artificial intelligence, tokenization and new financial technologies can move beyond experimentation and become part of the infrastructure supporting trade, payments, investment and entrepreneurship.
The Blockchain Festival Founder Olubunmi Fabwano, said that Nairobi playing host reflects the city’s growing importance in shaping the continent’s next phase of digital development.
“Nairobi has already shown the world that Africa does not have to wait for somebody else to define the future of financial technology,” he said.
“Kenya changed the way people think about mobile money. The question now is what happens when we apply that same African ingenuity to blockchain, digital assets, artificial intelligence, tokenization and the next generation of financial infrastructure.”
Talks will seek to move beyond cryptocurrency trading and market speculation to exploring practical applications of emerging technologies in cross-border payments, financial inclusion, digital identity, investment, real-world asset tokenization, trade, the creator economy and start-up financing.
“For too long, Africa has been treated mainly as a market for technologies developed somewhere else,” said Fabwano.
“That has to change. We have developers, entrepreneurs, regulators, financial institutions and some of the youngest digital consumers in the world. Africa Blockchain Festival is about bringing those people into the same room and asking a very simple question: what are we going to build for ourselves?”
The 2026 theme reflects on financing, builders and regulation in the continent and the festival will also focus on the relationship between innovation and regulation.
“The real test is whether we can build companies, institutions and infrastructure that are still creating jobs, attracting investment and solving problems five or ten years from now. That is what we mean by continuity. We want a permanent digital economy, not a temporary technology trend,” said Fabwano.
Among the leaders expected to participate are Dr. Emomotimi Agama, Director General of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission; Professor Bitange Ndemo, Daniel Mainda, CEO of the Nairobi International Financial Centre; Dr. Nkundwe Mwasaga of Tanzania’s ICT Commission; and representatives from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, financial institutions and technology businesses from across the continent.
“We want people to leave the Festival understanding that blockchain is not simply about buying and selling tokens,” said Fabwano.
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By Fred Kagonye