Africa Innovates Conference 2026: New Scientific and Developmental Frontiers

Celebrating the creative power of African innovation

Africa Innovates is a conference that aims to promote internal collaborations between Africa-focused Science, Policy and Education initiatives at Imperial and build bridges with external partners, focusing specifically on STEMB (Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine and Business). Africa Innovates cultivates an interdisciplinary dialogue for key researchers, shapers, and decision-makers to explore innovative ideas of how to address some of the grand challenges that African societies are facing today. This conference will showcase some of the Africa-focused activities currently taking place at Imperial.

The 2026 conference will feature a dynamic mix of plenary sessions, breakout discussions, lightning talks, and poster presentations. Plenary sessions will encourage reflective dialogue on how research is conducted in and with Africa, while thematic sessions will showcase innovative ideas, collaborations, and pathways for impact. We attempt to curate a science dialogue with practitioners, policymakers, civil society, central and local government, public sector, private sector, students, and academics across disciplines.

Register below to join us for Africa Innovates on Wednesday 15th July 2026, from 09.00 – 17.00 in City & Guilds Building Lecture Theatre 200 at Imperial’s South Kensington Campus.

This event will be held both in person and online. If you plan to join us virtually, we’ll send you the access link closer to the date.

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of past conferene

Discover more about our past conferences with profiles on our previous speakers.

→ Download the 2025 Programme

The Africa Innovates team

The Africa Innovates team works to foster collaboration and amplify Africa-focused research, education, and policy initiatives at Imperial College London. Through convening events like the Africa Innovates conference, the team connects researchers, students, and external partners across STEMB (Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine, and Business). Their mission is to strengthen interdisciplinary dialogue, promote impactful partnerships, and showcase innovative approaches to addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing African societies today.

Dr Jessica Thorn
Assistant Professor Global Food Security and Environmental Change and Research Fellow African Research Initiative for Scientific Excellence
Jessica's research looks at the effectiveness of green infrastructure on mitigating hydrometeorological risks in informal settlements in Namibia, Madagascar and Sierra Leone. She also has active projects in the Republic of Congo on peatlands, Kenya and Tanzania on environmental and social safeguards for transport infrastructure, and marine nature based solutions in the South Western Indian Ocean. She works closely with the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation as the Scientific Chair of the African Forum on Urban Forests.
Dr Tim Weiss
Assistant Professor in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship
His research focuses on the rise of start-up entrepreneurship, particularly in Kenya and the US, and building scalable businesses in contexts where there is no established blueprint for successfully commercialising innovation. Tim is also the editor of an open-source book on the digital revolution in Kenya.
Dr Sunday Popo-Ola
Research and Teaching Fellow, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Sunday Popo-Ola, Research and Teaching Fellow at Imperial, specialises in Concrete & Steel Structures and Environmental Systems. Winner of Imperial’s inaugural Equality and Diversity Award, he founded Creative Futures – Achieving Your Potential, inspiring young learners to excel.
Dr Onesmus Mwabonje
Advanced Research Fellow, Centre for Environmental Policy - Faculty of Natural Sciences
Dr Onesmus Mwabonje leads the environmental impact work on a major NIHR project in South Asia and co-leads research on integrating African science fiction into methodologies.
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