This premise that Africa's future economic power lies in its ideas was strongly articulated during the Creative Innovative Industries Conference CIIC, which brought together leaders in technology, media, finance and the arts. The programme explored how Africa can leverage creativity, innovation and digital infrastructure to fuel inclusive growth, in alignment with the summit's overarching theme "Africa's Growth Engine: Aligning the Flow of Money, Innovation, and Global Opportunities".
From fintech and artificial intelligence to film production and digital storytelling, the sessions revealed a clear roadmap: build the systems, fund the stories and protect the data that can drive a new phase of African development on the continent's own terms.
Constructing innovationBuilding undoubtedly emerged as one of the key focal points of the day, and more specifically how the development of infrastructure - in all its forms - can help to fuel growth on the continent and beyond.
It may surprise some to learn that the term "infrastructure" did not itself emerge until the late nineteenth century, and we know that its definition has expanded significantly in more recent decades to cover not only the physical, but also the digital realm. In 2025, our interpretation of infrastructure is evolving still, and our awareness of its importance to both systems change and sustainable economics is more attuned than ever before.
"We need to think more about soft infrastructure in terms of regulatory clarity, data protection laws and system interoperability," said Aliya Shariff, senior director at the Africa Catalytic Impact Fund, Mastercard Foundation. "Our businesses aren't inferior, they're just more expensive to operate.