Leadership & Business Summit 2026
THE NEXT FOUNDERS: From Vision to Venture in Africa's Innovation Economy. A half-day Leadership & Business Summit with keynotes, panels, and a student builders showcase.
About the summit
On Saturday, 29 August 2026, AIS hosts the Leadership & Business Summit 2026 at Carnegie Mellon University Africa under the theme "The Next Founders: From Vision to Venture in Africa's Innovation Economy."
The Summit walks the full founder journey in a single programme: keynote addresses from leaders who have built ventures and ecosystems, panels of emerging innovators and CEOs, and a showcase of CMU-Africa students presenting the ventures they are building right now.
Registration opens at 11:00 AM. The programme runs 11:30 AM to 3:00 PM, followed by a networking lunch until 3:45 PM.
Free attendance. Registration required. Open to students, young professionals, and the Kigali innovation community.
Full agenda
The lineup
Speakers & builders
Founders, operators, faculty, and student builders sharing the journey from vision to venture.
Keynote speakers
Prof. João Barros
President, Agency for Research and Innovation (AI²), Portugal
Prof. Barros leads AI², Portugal's national agency for research and innovation. A Full Professor at the University of Porto (on leave), IEEE Fellow, and former Associate Director of CMU-Africa, he is also the founder and former CEO of Veniam. His keynote draws on a career spanning the lab, the startup, and the institutions that connect them.
Oluwaseun David Adepoju, PhD
Managing Partner, CcHUB/iHUB
A technology and innovation leader at the intersection of frontier technology, policy, and social impact, Dr. Adepoju has spent over a decade building Africa's digital ecosystems, leading design labs, research teams, and high-impact initiatives across the continent at Co-creation Hub.
Prof. Keith Straughan
CEO, Imcon Consulting
A professor and academic leader working across technology, digital payments and fintech, and innovation in higher education, Prof. Straughan brings decades of experience bridging academia, industry, and enterprise leadership.
Presidential Address
Muhammad Aliyu
Founding President, Africa Innovators Society
A CMU-Africa alumnus and the founder of AIS, Muhammad launched the society and grew it into a student entrepreneurship community connected across universities and the Kigali ecosystem. His address connects AIS's founding story to this year's theme.
Stephen David Mhya
President, Africa Innovators Society
Stephen leads AIS in 2025-26, securing a landmark community partnership with the Inclusive Fintech Forum, convening 100+ leaders at the AIS Leadership Summit, and representing AIS as a panelist at the Inclusive Fintech Forum in Kigali. His address looks ahead to where the society is going next.
Panel 1
The First Mile: Turning an Idea into Something Real
Cynthia Iradukunda
CEO, Safe Speak
An AI software engineer, community organizer, and founder leading Safe Speak. A CMU-Africa alumna and Student Achievement Award recipient, she is a former President of the Women in Tech club and a Women Techmakers Ambassador.
Victor Olufemi
LyngualLabs
An award-winning data scientist and AI researcher building African-centric open-source AI models. A CMU-Africa graduate student and TEDx speaker, Victor has ranked among Africa's top data scientists and previously built custom large language models in industry.
Tobi Omotosho
Founder & CEO, Moniepal
Founder of Moniepal, a Kigali fintech moving from first pitch to MVP and a growing beta user base. Tobi is President of the Founders' Society at ALU and co-organiser of Global Entrepreneurship Week at ALU.
Charity Ineza
CEO, Turategura Limited
An operations and talent specialist turned founder. An ALU graduate in Entrepreneurial Leadership, she has served as Project Manager at SLS Energy and previously led HR and Operations at Spouts International.
Panel 2
Leading Through Growth: People, Capital, and Staying Power
David Masoperh
Co-founder & CEO, Pebla
Leads Pebla, a Kigali fintech simplifying mobile-money payments and personal finance. A CMU-Africa MSIT student, he grew Pebla from idea stage to a 9,000+ waitlist and angel investment within months.
Prof. Jesse Thornburg
Co-founder & CEO, Grid Fruit
CMU-Africa faculty member and co-founder and CEO of Grid Fruit, an energy data science company using AI-driven controls to cut energy use in food retail and commercial buildings. He mentors student founders across the region.
Gabriel Ekman
Co-founder & CEO, BAG Innovation
Co-founder of BAG Innovation, one of Africa's largest job-simulation and employability platforms, and co-owner of Lemo restaurant in Kigali.
Vivens Uwizeyimana
Founder & CEO, Umurava
Founder of Umurava, a talent marketplace and workforce outsourcing platform building Africa's digital-economy workforce, with tens of thousands of talents on the platform.
Student builders showcase
CMU-Africa student builders share what they are building, why, and where they are on the journey.
Frank Ebeledike
Co-founder, Exuar
CMU-Africa student presenting the venture he is currently building.
Paul Mugume
Co-founder, Vitalabs
CMU-Africa student and demo-day finalist at the Harvard health hackathon.
Register for this event
Complete the form below to secure your place at the summit.