A six-day annual gathering in Lagos bringing together African AI researchers, engineers, and practitioners to strengthen machine learning research across the continent through tutorials, workshops, and community-led knowledge exchange.
The Deep Learning Indaba is an annual six-day event dedicated to advancing artificial intelligence and machine learning research in Africa. It gathers researchers, engineers, students, and practitioners from across the continent and beyond for a programme combining academic sessions, skills workshops, mentorship, and community-building activities. Organised by Deep Learning Indaba Limited, the 2026 edition is the eighth in the series and is hosted at Pan-Atlantic University in Lagos, Nigeria, under the theme "Sovereign Intelligence. African Scale." Since its launch in 2017 the Indaba has grown into the largest annual machine learning and AI conference on the African continent. It sits within the AI and Data circuit tracked by Events Index.
The eighth Indaba takes place at Pan-Atlantic University in Lagos, Nigeria, from 2 to 7 August 2026, under the theme "Sovereign Intelligence. African Scale." The framing points to a specific argument: Africa's capacity to develop and direct its own AI systems, data, and scientific future rather than depend on models and infrastructure built elsewhere. The programme structure is published, with keynote slots organised by theme across the week, though named keynote speakers were still marked "TBC" on the official programme page as of the verification date. The general delegate ticket lottery remained open at that point; financial aid applications had closed, with the deadline recorded as 30 May 2026.
Pan-Atlantic University, hosting for the first time, framed its role in community terms. "We are super excited that Pan-Atlantic University is hosting the Deep Learning Indaba 2026, bringing together the global Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence community to our campus," the university said in coverage carried by iAfrikan. The choice of Lagos, Nigeria's commercial and technology hub, follows a rotation that has moved the event across the continent since 2017.
The Indaba occupies a distinctive position as the single largest recurring event dedicated to AI research capacity on the African continent. Timed in early August, it sits outside the principal Northern Hemisphere conference season, which concentrates major AI events between May and July and again in November and December. This placement reflects the event's identity as an Africa-centred gathering rather than a satellite of the global conference circuit. The 2025 edition in Kigali drew 1,294 participants from more than 40 African countries, a record for the series, which gives a working benchmark for the scale Lagos is preparing to host. For readers mapping the wider circuit, the Indaba is the research-capacity anchor that enterprise-facing fixtures such as the Adopt AI Global Summit and developer gatherings such as Berlin Buzzwords do not replace.
The 2025 edition offers a profile of who the format reaches: of the 1,294 participants, 40 percent were women, and the organisers distributed 390 travel grants so that cost was not the deciding factor in who could attend. That grant structure is a defining feature of the Indaba's access model rather than an incidental benefit.
The 2026 programme confirms the keynote themes above but lists named speakers as "TBC" on the official page as of the verification date. In 2025, the equivalent slots were filled by figures including Verena Rieser (Google DeepMind), Max Welling (University of Amsterdam and Microsoft Research), Dina Machuve (DevData Analytics), and Sanmi Koyejo (Stanford), which indicates the calibre of speaker the series draws once its lineup is confirmed.
The thematic focus of the Indaba centres on building African research capacity in machine learning: deep learning methods, research practice and methodology, and the African context for AI development. The 2026 theme, "Sovereign Intelligence. African Scale," sharpens that focus toward autonomy, the ability of African institutions to own the data, models, and infrastructure that shape the continent's AI future rather than consume tools built elsewhere. The event's academic orientation distinguishes it from applied industry conferences: the curriculum is directed at building research capacity and sharing knowledge across a continent where machine learning infrastructure remains uneven. The programme also carries a set of community awards, including the Maathai Impact and Anta Diop Community Hero awards, and the Allele-Williams and Kambule research awards, presented across the week.
The 2026 edition publishes its sponsors in named tiers on the official site, with the tiers labelled after African rivers and landmarks:
This mix, research funders, foundations, and AI companies, reflects the Indaba's dual character as both a research capacity programme and a recruiting and visibility channel for organisations building AI talent pipelines in Africa. The 2025 edition in Kigali carried a comparable base, with Google Research, Google DeepMind, IBM, Microsoft, and InstaDeep among the named sponsors, so the continuity of funders across editions is a documented feature rather than a one-off.
Coverage of the Indaba clusters around its scale and its mission rather than product announcements, and the confirmed examples below reflect that split:
The organiser does not publicly disclose accredited journalist counts or media request volumes as of this verification.
Deep Learning Indaba is an annual event designed for the African AI research and practitioner community. Its core audience is researchers, students, and engineers based in Africa, along with international participants attending in an academic or non-African industry capacity. The event's stated mission, in place since 2017, is to strengthen African machine learning and to ensure that Africans are owners and shapers of the coming advances in AI.
The event is organised by Deep Learning Indaba Limited, a non-profit body whose trustees include Shakir Mohamed as chair, alongside Ulrich Paquet, Kathleen Siminyu, Emily Muller, and Bruno Ssekiwere. The 2026 edition is led by general chairs Aisha Alaagib (Thakaa), Albert Njoroge Kahira (AstraZeneca), and Chinazo Anebelundu (Data Science Nigeria). The series was founded in 2017 by Ulrich Paquet and Shakir Mohamed, both then at Google DeepMind, after they observed how few African participants attended international AI conferences and set out to build a summer-school-style event on the continent.
Several profiles are a poor fit for this event. Practitioners seeking commercial deal flow, vendor showcases, or procurement meetings will find little of that here: the format is academic and community-driven, not transactional. Senior executives from large technology firms looking for high-level strategic networking will encounter an event oriented around technical education and research capacity rather than executive exchange. Participants based outside Africa with no interest in the continent's AI research context are unlikely to find the programme relevant. Those requiring confirmed keynote names before committing travel will face uncertainty, as the 2026 speaker lineup was still marked "TBC" at the time of verification. Finally, the application and lottery-based access model means that individuals expecting open registration on demand may not secure a place.
The 2026 edition is the eighth in the series and the first hosted in Nigeria, at Pan-Atlantic University in Lagos. It carries the theme "Sovereign Intelligence. African Scale," which foregrounds African ownership of AI systems and infrastructure. It also continues the Virtual Indaba introduced at Kigali in 2025, which extends the conference to remote participants through a separate lower-cost registration.
Yes. Pricing tiers distinguish between African and non-African industry participants, and the non-African industry category carries a higher registration cost of 350 USD (approximately 320 EUR at current rates). Researchers and students from outside the continent can apply, though the event's focus and community are centred on African AI development.
Pan-Atlantic University is a private university located in Lagos, Nigeria, hosting the Indaba for the first time in 2026. It runs faculties across business, humanities, and professional studies and has the physical infrastructure to accommodate a gathering of around 1,000 participants across lecture halls, seminar rooms, and open campus spaces. Lagos is Nigeria's largest city and its primary commercial and technological hub, home to a growing cluster of technology companies and startup activity, which makes it a fitting host for an event centred on building AI capacity. The campus setting is consistent with the Indaba's academic orientation and provides the kind of multi-room environment that a programme with concurrent tutorials, workshops, and poster sessions requires.
Deep Learning Indaba Limited is the non-profit body behind the event, governed by a board of trustees chaired by Shakir Mohamed, with Ulrich Paquet, Kathleen Siminyu, Emily Muller, and Bruno Ssekiwere among its members. The organisation runs through specialised committees covering sponsorship, programming, communications, and applications, and each annual edition is delivered with a local volunteer team and named general chairs. For 2026 those chairs are Aisha Alaagib, Albert Njoroge Kahira, and Chinazo Anebelundu.
The Indaba was founded in 2017 by Ulrich Paquet and Shakir Mohamed, both then researchers at Google DeepMind, who framed the initiative around a gap they had experienced directly: being among the only African participants at major international AI conferences. Their answer was a summer-school format modelled on the intensive NIPS experience, first run in Johannesburg with over 300 participants from 23 African countries. From that start the event has rotated across the continent, through Stellenbosch, Nairobi, Tunis, Accra, Dakar, and Kigali, growing into what its organisers and press describe as the largest annual machine learning gathering in Africa.
The Deep Learning Indaba is a structurally unusual event in the AI calendar: a six-day, academically framed gathering explicitly built around a regional research deficit, anchored in Africa, and accessible through a competitive application and travel-grant process that prioritises community fit over purchasing power. Its 2026 theme, "Sovereign Intelligence. African Scale," reads less as a slogan than as a statement of intent, and its steady growth to nearly 1,300 participants places it among the more consequential fixtures of the AI and Data circuit for anyone tracking where African AI research capacity is being built.
Registration for Deep Learning Indaba follows an application and lottery model rather than open ticketing. The organiser does not sell general tickets on demand, a deliberate choice given that demand to attend far exceeds available places. Prospective participants submit an application that is reviewed, and access to the paid registration lottery is subject to approval.
In-person registration fees for the 2026 edition, expressed in USD with approximate EUR equivalents at current rates, are: 150 USD (around 137 EUR) for students, with proof of student status required; 200 USD (around 183 EUR) for faculty members and African industry participants; and 350 USD (around 320 EUR) for non-African industry participants. A financial aid route offers free registration through a separate competitive process, and the series distributed 390 travel grants at the 2025 edition. A Virtual Indaba option provides lower-cost remote access at 50 USD for students and 100 USD for faculty. Financial aid applications for 2026 closed on 30 May 2026; the general delegate ticket lottery remained open as of the verification date. All registration is handled via the official website at deeplearningindaba.com.
Applicants submit a registration request that is reviewed by the organiser. Those who pass the review are entered into a paid lottery for available places, a system the organiser uses to keep access fair given that demand exceeds capacity. The financial aid route bypasses the fee tiers but involves its own competitive selection process. There is no open, first-come-first-served ticketing.
Three in-person fee tiers apply, all contingent on successful lottery entry: 150 USD for students, 200 USD for faculty members and African industry participants, and 350 USD for non-African industry participants. Financial aid applicants who are selected attend at no cost, and a virtual option is available at 50 USD for students and 100 USD for faculty. All figures are as stated on the official website and are subject to currency fluctuation when converted to EUR.
Yes. The Virtual Indaba, introduced at the 2025 Kigali edition and continued in 2026, opens the conference to remote participants through a separate registration priced at 50 USD for students and 100 USD for faculty. It was created to make the programme accessible to anyone with an internet connection who cannot travel to Lagos.
As of the verification date, the official programme page publishes the keynote themes and session structure but lists named keynote speakers as "TBC." Calls for tutorial and workshop proposals had been part of the run-up, and the schedule is marked "subject to change" with updates planned. Prospective participants should monitor deeplearningindaba.com directly for confirmed names.
No. The access model requires an application that is reviewed before any registration can be completed, and places are allocated by lottery rather than open sale. Walk-in or on-site registration is not described in publicly available materials.
| Official website | https://deeplearningindaba.com |
| 2026 edition | https://deeplearningindaba.com/2026/ |
| Programme | https://deeplearningindaba.com/2026/programme/ |
| AI and Data circuit (Events Index) | /ai-circuit.html |
| Upcoming EMEA events (Events Index) | /upcoming.html |