Nairobi / Paris — 23 March 2026: On the occasion of the Africa Forward Summit, which will take place on 11–12 May 2026 in Nairobi, the French-African Foundation and the Autonomous Advancement Initiative, in partnership with Concerto and Nuvision, are launching Nova Garage, an innovation platform dedicated to African tech entrepreneurship and the continent's emerging engines of value creation.
The initiative is organized under the High Patronage of H.E. William Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya. Designed as a dynamic space for exchange, demonstration, and dialogue, Nova Garage will bring together in Nairobi a curated selection of some of the continent's most promising entrepreneurs, alongside investors, corporate leaders, and public stakeholders committed to advancing innovation across Africa.
Launch Announcement
Nova Garage is being introduced as a Pan-African innovation platform spotlighting the next generation of African tech entrepreneurs. Presented in connection with the Africa Forward Summit, the platform is intended to create visibility for high-potential ventures and deepen dialogue between founders, institutional actors, investors, and business leaders.
Readers can learn more about the initiative on the NOVA Garage page and through the official platform website at novagarage.africa.
Highlighting African Innovation
Nova Garage aims to spotlight the depth and diversity of the continent's entrepreneurial energy by showcasing technology solutions developed by the new generation of African innovators across key sectors including energy, agriculture, mobility, and finance.
A cohort of 15 entrepreneurs under the age of 35 will be identified through a pan-African mobilization campaign, offering them exceptional visibility before an international audience of business leaders, investors, and policymakers attending the Africa Forward Summit.
Nairobi, the Leading Innovation Hub in Africa
The Silicon Savannah
Hosted in Nairobi, one of the continent's most dynamic technology ecosystems, Nova Garage reflects a shared ambition to highlight Kenya's growing role as a hub for innovation and value creation in Africa under the leadership of H.E. President William Ruto.
Home to more than 400 active technology startups, Kenya continues to lead the continent's digital transformation, attracting roughly $1 billion in venture capital last year across sectors such as cleantech and fintech. Nova Garage is positioned to strengthen both intra-African and Africa–France economic and technological partnerships by fostering new connections between entrepreneurs, companies, and investors from both continents.
A Forward-Looking Platform
Beyond the event in Nairobi, Nova Garage is designed to become a long-term platform for growth, visibility, and networking. The initiative seeks to promote African entrepreneurial initiatives while reinforcing cooperation between African and international stakeholders on emerging issues in innovation, technology, and value creation.
Nova Garage also publicly introduces the Autonomous Advancement Initiative, a framework to safeguard sovereignty by positioning African states not as markets to be served, but as co-owners of the critical infrastructure layer of the Intelligence Age.
"We have spent decades speaking for Africa's future. Perhaps it is time we made room for those who are actually building it."
— Dr. Abraham Korir Sing'Oei, PS, State Department for Foreign Affairs
Eligibility Criteria
Applications are open to entrepreneurs and social enterprise founders who satisfy all required criteria. Applicants must be under 35 and apply before 17:00 Hours East African Time on 23 April 2026 via novagarage.africa/apply.
- Nationality: Open to applicants holding citizenship or refugee status in an African country.
- Stage of development: The solution must be beyond the idea stage, include a functional MVP or working prototype, be ready for live demonstration, and clearly address a specific problem.
- Documentation: Applicants should be able to provide proof of incorporation or a cap table, a 2–3 page business plan covering value proposition, market, and viability, or impact metrics for social enterprises.
- Teams: Up to four co-founders per team are allowed, with a maximum of two representatives per application.
About the Organizers
About the French-African Foundation
Since its creation in 2019, the French-African Foundation has promoted a new generation of African and French leaders across culture, entrepreneurship, sports, industry, the non-profit sector, and public affairs. The Foundation supports high-potential talent, promotes bold solutions to today's challenges, and strengthens Africa–France ties through meaningful exchange and collaboration. Learn more at french-african.org.
About the Autonomous Advancement Initiative
The Autonomous Advancement Initiative is a cooperation framework established with the Kenya State Department for Foreign Affairs for the purpose of developing an institutional architecture through which nations may govern autonomous technologies, build sovereign digital infrastructure, attract global capital, and co-own the critical systems of the intelligence age.
AAI is designed to harness the convening and diplomatic capacity of the state in concert with the innovation potential of young people, creating structured pathways to opportunity, investment, and sovereign growth. Through this collaboration, the Initiative advances national development objectives by addressing systemic gaps in frontier technology adoption and strengthening sovereign capacity in the technologies that will define the future.
Contacts
For media or program enquiries related to the Nova Garage launch, contact: