We must own our digital future’ – KGL chair warns Africa on digital investment
Kigali, Rwanda — Africa has the talent, the market, and the momentum. What it still struggles to retain is the investment behind them.
That was the core message from KGL Group Executive Chairman Alex Dadey during the 2026 Forward Africa Leaders Symposium (FALS) held in Kigali.
Dadey urged African governments to deliberately build investor-friendly ecosystems that attract and grow local business champions — companies with the scale and ambition to redirect capital into digital infrastructure across the continent.
Without that strategic shift, he warned, Africa will continue losing investment, talent, and opportunity to markets outside the continent.
“We must make it more attractive to invest in African digital infrastructure than to export African capital,” said Forbes Best of Africa Corporate Leadership Award-winninbusinessman and philanthropist.
Africa’s digital economy faces a defining moment
The continental digital economy is moving quickly. Artificial intelligence, digital finance, sovereign data systems, and advanced technologies are already reshaping global competitiveness.
The 2026 FALS summit brought together public and private sector leaders to discuss how Africa can strengthen its digital future and compete in the global AI economy.
The high-level gathering built on earlier discussions held at the NASDAQ in New York City during the 2025 symposium.
FALS Executive Director Hannah Awuku said Africa must stop thinking of itself as a passive player in the global technology transition.
“Africa must not simply participate in this transition. Africa must shape it,” she said.
That idea — participation versus ownership — shaped much of the summit’s discussions.
While Africa has already produced remarkable digital innovation across various sectors, much of the infrastructure, funding, and governance supporting that growth still sits outside the continent.
Organisers said closing that gap could define Africa’s next development decade.
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