Datafest Africa 2026 - Nairobi

Kujenga na Data | Building with Data

Some of the most important questions about data aren't technical. They're human.

Who does the data belong to? Who gets to tell the story? And when we build systems that shape lives... in health, in education, in how cities grow...whose knowledge counts?

DataFest Africa 2026 Nairobi is a one-day gathering at Aga Khan University where researchers, practitioners, policymakers, artists, students, and community voices come together to sit with those questions and start building better answers.

This isn't a typical conference.

We're designing this year's Nairobi edition as a community baraza — the kind of open, unhurried gathering where every voice belongs, ideas are tested in conversation, and no one sits only in an audience.

Through lightning talks, community dialogue sessions and a Tech Garden, you'll move from listening to questioning, from questioning to co-creating. You'll encounter data stories and innovations from across our network; grounded, honest, and made in Africa.

What we're exploring together:

How can African-owned, community-centred data and technology serve people not just measure them?

What does ethical innovation look like when it starts from local realities rather than imported frameworks?

And how do we build digital futures that are safer, more just, and genuinely ours?

Come with your questions. Come with your work. Come as you are.

Join us in Nairobi on 6 August as we build with data...together.