Photo Gallery: 17 July 2026, CITO East Africa Cybersecurity Summit, Nairobi

Speaking at the CITO East Africa Pitch Parade at Capital Club East Africa in Nairobi, Dr Mark Nasila, chief data and analytics officer at FNB South Africa and author of two books on artificial intelligence, made the case that Africa's relationship with technology needs to change, from adoption to ownership.

At a time when personal computers and mobile phones were still unfamiliar to many Kenyan students, Amon Ngechu chose to study computer science, a decision that would shape a career spanning software development, telecommunications and digital financial services. Today, Amon is the CTO at NCBA Loop DFS.

At the CIO of the Future Summit held at the Dar es Salaam Serena on 11 September, Dr Allen Mutono delivered a keynote address that challenged IT leaders to think carefully about how AI is deployed in African organisations. He also urged CIOs to equip their teams for an AI-enabled workplace while keeping human judgement at the centre.

The first-ever CITO East Africa Data and Cybersecurity Summit took place at the Villa Rosa Kempinski Nairobi on 17 July. During the event's keynote address, Jamila Aroi, partner for technology consulting at PwC Kenya, urged business and technology leaders to develop the ability to withstand, recover from and adapt to cyber incidents. 

Raymond Machary, principal ICT officer at Ocean Road Cancer Institute, sees technology as a lever capable of transforming lives. Over the years, he has pioneered digital health systems in Tanzania and mentored young IT professionals. Central to his work is the belief that true innovation begins with people.