Transform Africa Summit 2025: From Policy Ambition to Coordinated Implementation

Transform Africa Summit (TAS) 2025 took place for the first time in West Africa, in Conakry, Guinea, bringing together leaders from across Africa and beyond to discuss how the continent can advance its digital transformation in practical and coordinated ways. Convened by the Smart Africa Alliance, the Summit gathered representatives from governments, regulators, the private sector, startups, and international partners.

Officially opened by H.E. Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda and Chairman of Smart Africa, and H.E. Mamadi Doumbouya, President of the Republic of Guinea, TAS 2025 convened political leaders, regulators, innovators, and development partners around a shared objective: moving Africa's digital transformation from policy ambition to coordinated implementation.

TAS is Smart Africa's flagship annual forum and serves as a space where continental digital priorities are discussed alongside concrete implementation challenges. Smart Africa, a pan-African alliance of African Union Member States, works to accelerate digital transformation through policy coordination, regional cooperation, and Africa-led digital initiatives.

Held from 12–14 November 2025, the seventh edition of the Summit was the first to take place in West Africa. Under the theme "AI for Africa: Innovate locally, impact globally," discussions focused on artificial intelligence, data governance, digital infrastructure, and inclusion. The Summit brought together over 7,000 participants from 79 countries, including 47 ministers, 1,552 government representatives, 584 business leaders, and more than 590 startups, and resulted in the signing of 14 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).

Within this Smart Africa–led platform, GIZ participated as a partner, together with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), contributing technical expertise, policy dialogue, and implementation experience.

GIZ Participation at TAS 2025

GIZ was represented by a delegation of 14 staff members, joined by two representatives from BMZ, including Ronald Meyer, Head of Division Operations in Africa. The GIZ staff came from several country and regional programmes, including Rwanda, Senegal/Guinea, Tanzania (EAC), Ethiopia (AU), as well as global digital initiatives.

Across 15 Summit sessions, GIZ contributed to discussions focused on moving from policy ambition toward practical implementation, particularly in the areas of artificial intelligence, data governance, digital public infrastructure, inclusion, and digital ecosystems.

Smart Africa — Accelerating the Digital Transformation in Africa

Through this project, GIZ supports the Smart Africa Alliance in advancing coordinated, Africa-led digital transformation. The project focuses on policy alignment, regional cooperation, and implementation of key Smart Africa initiatives across priority digital sectors.

Under this project, GIZ supported and participated in several Summit activities, including the Ms Geek Africa 2025 Pitching and Award Ceremony, as well as ministerial breakfast sessions such as the Gender Ministerial Breakfast and the Ministerial Breakfast on the Africa Bulk Purchase Marketplace (BPMP), which were attended by BMZ.

One Health Data Alliance Africa (OHDAA)

The One Health Data Alliance Africa (OHDAA) supports data-driven and cross-sectoral collaboration across health, agriculture, and environmental systems. Through the OHDAA project, GIZ contributed to the launch of the Africa Digital Health Leadership Network session at TAS 2025, which focused on strengthening continental leadership and coordination on digital health governance.

GovStack

GovStack is a global initiative supporting governments in building digital public infrastructure using interoperable and reusable digital building blocks. Through GovStack, GIZ supported the session "Designing the Digital Face of Government: How GovStack's CMS Specification Enables Effective Website Standardization," which showcased case studies from Africa and highlighted how shared standards can improve accessibility, transparency, and trust in digital public services.

Team Europe — Data Governance in Africa Initiative

At TAS 2025, the three objectives of the Team Europe Data Governance in Africa Initiative (SO1, SO2, and SO3) were reflected across several dedicated sessions. Under SO1, sessions focused on collaborative approaches for regulators and technology companies, strengthening South–South cooperation on data governance, and advancing cross-border data flows for Africa's digital future. SO2 was addressed through discussions on turning the potential of data into concrete impact. SO3 was reflected in sessions on financing AI and digital infrastructure, with participation from BMZ and GIZ.

Sessions with Collaborative Projects

As part of the joint work between Smart Africa and Germany on advancing Africa's artificial intelligence agenda, GIZ contributed to the session "From Declaration to AI Implementation," which marked progress toward operationalising AI cooperation between Smart Africa and Germany.

Through FAIR Forward — Artificial Intelligence for All, and Triangular Cooperation for Digital Innovation Made in Africa, GIZ supported the Innovate Africa Challenge — Accelerating Pan-African Innovation, showcasing "Made in Africa" digital solutions and cross-regional innovation partnerships, with BMZ in attendance. The Triangular Cooperation programme also presented its Drones project at TAS 2025.

Other TAS 2025 Sessions with BMZ and GIZ Participation

BMZ and GIZ also took part in the Global AI Laboratory session, held under FemAI — an initiative of Women Political Leaders (WPL), GIZ, and Smart Africa — which highlighted the role of African women political leaders in shaping inclusive, ethical, and transformative AI policy across the continent. The Smart Africa Board Meeting at TAS 2025 brought together H.E. Paul Kagame with ministers and senior leaders from Smart Africa Member States, with participation from BMZ and GIZ.

Key Takeaways

TAS 2025 highlighted a clear shift toward implementation and coordination in Africa's digital transformation efforts. For BMZ and GIZ, the Summit provided a platform to contribute ongoing project work, strengthen collaboration with Smart Africa, and engage with partners working on AI, data governance, digital public infrastructure, and inclusion. The exchanges in Conakry will inform continued cooperation and implementation across GIZ programmes supporting Africa's digital agenda.