In Nairobi on 11 May 2026, a new platform aims to reveal the next generation of African entrepreneurs to decision-makers from around the world.
In the coming weeks, Nairobi will host one of the most anticipated diplomatic and economic gatherings of the year: the Africa–France Summit “Africa Forward”. Taking place in the Kenyan capital, the Summit places innovation and growth at the heart of Africa–France partnerships – a key theme championed by the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and equally central to the vision of economic transformation advanced by the President of the Republic of Kenya, William Ruto.
Alongside the official programme, an unprecedented initiative aims to place entrepreneurs at the centre of the dialogue: Nova Garage.
Led by the French-African Foundation and the Autonomous Advancement Initiative, in partnership with Concerto and Nuvision, this innovation platform is designed as a space for showcasing, exchange and dialogue – a garage in the most literal sense: where ideas take shape.
A continental showcase
Organised under the High Patronage of the President of the Republic of Kenya, William Ruto, this initiative will bring together 15 entrepreneurs under the age of 35, selected through a pan-African mobilisation campaign. They will have the opportunity to present their solutions to a jury of investors, corporate leaders and international policymakers. Energy, agriculture, mobility, finance: sectors where Africa’s youth is already innovating and offering concrete responses to the continent’s challenges.
Nairobi was not chosen by chance. Kenya’s capital, known as the Silicon Savannah, is home to over 400 active tech startups and attracted nearly $1 billion dollars in investment last year, driven by its cleantech and fintech ecosystems. No other city better embodies the continent’s digital transformation.
Nova Garage aims to become a lasting platform – a living network that will continue, long after the Summit, to connect African entrepreneurs, companies and investors across both continents. It also marks the public launch of the Autonomous Advancement Initiative, a framework designed to reposition African states not as recipients of foreign technology, but as sovereign actors in the age of intelligence.
The initiative marks a turning point in how the Africa–France dialogue can reinvent itself: no longer solely around public policy, but in direct contact with those who are building the future.
Applications are open
African entrepreneurs under the age of 35 wishing to join the Nova Garage cohort can submit their applications until 23 April 2026 at novagarage.africa.
A rare opportunity to address, in Nairobi this May, one of the most influential international audiences on the continent.
