Africa smart cities investment summit launched in Johannesburg

A Summit designed to provide a platform for conversation on how African cities can lower the cost of living on the continent has been launched in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The event, dubbed: "The Africa smart cities investment summit (ASCIS)”, which have investors, development finance institutions, ministers from the continent, among others, as participants is slated for December 1-3, this year.

It would be held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, on the theme: "Affordable cities, technology and AI for sustainable prosperity."

In 2023, the inaugural summit was held in Kigali, Rwanda. And in 2024, Nairobi, Kenya, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

It was launched at the ongoing Meetings Africa event in Johannesburg, South Africa, last Tuesday,

Population

With Africa expected to account for the majority of global urban population growth in the coming decades, ASCIS 2026 would shift the conversation decisively from vision to value, focusing on how cities can lower the cost of living, unlock productive urban economies and mobilise capital for scalable and integrated solutions.

This year’s edition would feature high level plenaries, a closed door mayoral programme, an investment deal room,  Africa Smart City Index Awards and curated engagements, all aimed at accelerating bankable urban projects across the continent.

The Chairman and Chief Curator of ASCIS, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, said Africa’s urban future would not be defined by how smart our cities appear but how affordable, productive and inclusive they would become.

He said ASCIS was designed as a platform where policy, capital and innovation converged for implementation and not just discussions, adding that Johannesburg provided the ideal ecosystem to advance that agenda.

The Director of Partnerships and Summit Coordinator, Florence Moseti, said as cities grew, affordability must be embedded.

Significance

Through smart data driven innovation, Ms Moseti said, cities would be able to reduce cost, unlock new markets and expand access to essential services.

She said this would ensure that "urban growth is resilient, inclusive and sustainable for all of us".

Ms Moseti, therefore, implored governments, city leaders, development partners, investors, innovators, technology providers, academia and the private sector to move beyond dialogue to more action and collaboration.

She said the bid to host next year's event had been opened to all African cities, and so those interested could reach out to the organisers.

Affordability

The Chief Operations Officer of ASCIS, Diana Njuguna, said at the World Economic Forum, the biggest conversation was affordability because "if we don't make our cities affordable right now, we would pay later".

"We have always framed the need for smart cities to be affordable, but really, how do we make them affordable so that they can become sustainable".