Lagos, Nigeria – The African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) will take a leading role at Hyperscalers Convergence Africa 2026, with Amine Idriss Adoum, Director, Infrastructure, Energy, Industrialisation, Trade & Regional Integration, AUDA-NEPAD, confirmed to deliver a keynote address at the third edition of the continental digital infrastructure conference.

Scheduled for September 4, 2026, in Lagos, Nigeria, Hyperscalers Convergence Africa 2026 will convene policymakers, regulators, investors, infrastructure operators, technology companies and enterprise leaders under the theme “Africa’s Great Digital Buildout.”

Adoum’s participation brings a continental development and regional integration perspective to discussions on how Africa can build the infrastructure required to support its rapidly expanding digital economy. His portfolio at AUDA-NEPAD spans infrastructure, energy, industrialisation, trade and regional integration — areas increasingly interconnected as African countries seek to expand cross-border digital infrastructure, deepen regional markets and create the foundations for cloud, artificial intelligence and digital trade at scale.

Africa’s next decades of digital growth will depend increasingly on decisions being made today around power, connectivity, data centres, cloud infrastructure, capital deployment, regulation and regional integration. The Hyperscalers Convergence Africa is designed to bring these different components of the ecosystem together and move the conversation from infrastructure ambition towards coordinated execution.

The conference will examine the policy, capital, connectivity, energy, data centre, cloud and AI infrastructure required to support Africa’s next digital economy, with high-level conversations spanning data sovereignty, digital infrastructure financing, cloud adoption, connectivity resilience, AI readiness, regional market integration and the role of enterprise demand in accelerating infrastructure investment.

Adoum joins a growing lineup of African and global leaders confirmed for HCA 2026, including Bill Kleyman, Global Data Centre Chair, Informa and Chief Executive Officer, Apolo.us; Dr. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General/Chief Executive Officer, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA); Dr. Ayotunde Coker, Chief Executive Officer, Open Access Data Centres; Gary Chomse, Regional Director, Vertiv; Dotun Adekunle, Chief Operating Officer/Chief Technical Officer, OPay; and Hon. Chukwuemeka Ujam, mni, Managing Partner, Nina Jojer.

Other confirmed speakers include Dr. Fiona Asonga, Chief Executive Officer, Technology Service Providers Association of Kenya (TESPOK), operators of the Kenya Internet Exchange Point; Begna Gebreyes, Senior Vice President, Investments, Africa Finance Corporation; Muhammed Rudman, Chief Executive Officer, Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria; Guy Zibi, Managing Partner, Xalam Analytics; Chiderah Ike-Okonkwo, Africa Director, Government Affairs & Public Policy; Kanwulia Okafor, Director, Industry Services (Africa), GSMA; Jane Munga, Fellow, Carnegie Africa Program; Josephine Sarouk, Managing Director, Bayobab Nigeria; Nonye Ujam, Director, Government Affairs, West Africa, Microsoft; and Temitope Osunrinde, Executive Director, Africa Hyperscalers.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Osunrinde said AUDA-NEPAD’s participation reinforces the need to connect national digital infrastructure ambitions with Africa’s wider development and integration agenda.

“Digital infrastructure can no longer be treated simply as a telecommunications or technology issue. It is becoming fundamental to Africa’s competitiveness, industrialisation, trade and economic integration. Having AUDA-NEPAD, GSMA, the African Continental Free Trade Area leadership at Hyperscalers Convergence Africa 2026 allows us to place the conversation within that broader continental context — connecting digital infrastructure investment with the markets, institutions and policy frameworks needed to make Africa’s digital economy work at scale.”

He added: “Africa’s digital future in 10 to 20 years will depend on the infrastructure decisions being made today. Our conference will bring the right institutions into the room to address the hard questions around demand, capital, regulation, connectivity, cloud, data centres, AI and sovereignty. The objective is not simply to discuss Africa’s opportunity, but to work with the institutions capable of shaping a practical delivery agenda for the next phase of growth.”

The 2026 conference will also recognise some of the individuals whose work has helped shape Africa’s telecommunications and digital infrastructure landscape. Those being honoured include Andile Ngcaba, Chairman, Convergence Partners; Funke Opeke, Founder, MainOne; Strive Masiyiwa, Executive Chairman, Cassava Technologies; Alan Knott-Craig Sr, Founding CEO, Vodacom; Chris Wood, Chief Executive Officer, WIOCC; Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, former Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission; Michuki Mwangi, Distinguished Technologist for Internet Growth, Internet Society; and His Excellency Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

HCA 2026 will also recognise the contributions of the late Khaled Bichara, co-founder of Orascom Telecom, and Mohamed Nasr, former Chief Executive Officer of Telecom Egypt.

Hyperscalers Convergence Africa 2026 is hosted by The Africa Hyperscalers Company, with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) as Institutional Partner, Xalam Analytics as Research Partner, and Nina Jojer Africa as Knowledge Partner.