AfricaDoesn'tWaitAnymore.
The continent's most consequential innovation gathering.
27–28 November · ICC Ibadan · Nigeria
In-Person
Delegates
Online
Audience
Countries
Represented
World-Class
Speakers
Four editions. One mission. Africa at its most ambitious.
ISF Forum 2026 Theme
“Scale Without Borders.”
There is a version of Africa that the world has already decided on. We disagree with it.
Scale Without Borders is not a slogan. It is a declaration — that African businesses can grow without limits, that capital can flow without friction, that the best ideas on this continent belong to the whole world.
This is the room where that declaration is made real.
ISF Forum is Nigeria's premier platform for innovation, entrepreneurship, and cross-border investment.
Since 2022, it has gathered Africa's most consequential founders, investors, policymakers, and international partners in one room, for two days, every year.
It is not a conference. It is a room where things happen — where capital finds companies, where companies find markets, and where Africa finds its next chapter.
The people in this room are not talking about what Africa could be. They are building it.
You know these names. They have all been in this room.
Past SpeakerGov. Seyi Makinde
— Executive Governor, Oyo State
Past SpeakerIyinoluwa Aboyeji
— Founder & CEO, Future Africa
Past SpeakerDr. Markie Idowu
— Board Member, Standard Chartered Bank
Past SpeakerOlu Akanmu
— Non-Executive Director, Moniepoint
Past SpeakerOchanya Dan-ugo
— Board Member, Hope PSB
Past SpeakerSatoshi Shinada
— Partner, Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures
Past SpeakerCharles Bélanger-Bélanger
— Senior MSME Expert, Kenya MFB
Past SpeakerKatharine Link
— CEO, Pulse & Business Insider Africa
Past SpeakerWill Stevens
— Consul General, U.S. Consulate General Lagos
Past SpeakerDavid Adeleke
— Convener, ISF Forum
+ 50 more speakers
across four editions
ISF Forum 2026 is assembling the most powerful lineup yet.
Speakers to be announced.
The deals don't get announced on the stage.
They close in the corridors.
The companies that have stood on the ISF Forum stage have gone on to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in the months that followed.
Not because ISF Forum wrote them a cheque. Because ISF Forum put them in the same room as the people who did.
Investors who came as speakers left as lead partners.
Founders who came looking for co-founders found them at dinner.
Government officials who came to observe left having signed MoUs.
This is what two days in the right room does.
Scale Without Borders Awards 2026
18 Categories. One Continent. The Highest Recognition in African Innovation.
Nominations are open. Free to submit. Pan-Africa.
The Scale Without Borders Awards recognise the companies, founders, and leaders doing the most important work in African innovation in 2026.
Presented at the closing Gala — 28th November — before 1,000+ assembled delegates and 50,000+ watching online.
Nominate Now — It's FreeThe Scale Without Borders Gala · 28 November 2026
The most celebrated night in African innovation.
The Scale Without Borders Gala is where ISF Forum ends — and where legacies begin.
1,000+ of Africa's most senior founders, investors, diplomats, and government leaders. Black-tie optional. Ambition mandatory. Live broadcast across the continent.
The Awards are presented. The deals finalised over dinner. The photographs taken with people you spent years trying to reach.
Some rooms you never forget. This is one of them.
Request Gala Invitation27–28 November 2026 · ICC Ibadan
The Agenda
Day 1
November 27Morning
- Opening Ceremony & State Welcome
- Day 1 Keynote — Scale Without Borders
- Innovation Panel: The African Unicorn Pipeline
Afternoon
- Track Sessions: Fintech · AgriTech · CleanEnergy · Health
- ISF Innovation Challenge — Startup Arena
- Investor Roundtables (Closed Door)
Evening
- ISF Forum Welcome Dinner
- Informal Networking & Delegate Receptions
Day 2
November 28Morning
- Day 2 Keynote — Investing Across Borders
- Government & Policy Session
- Africa's Digital Infrastructure: The Next Five Years
Afternoon
- Track Sessions: Trade · Digital Commerce · Diaspora Capital
- Awards Shortlist Reveal
- Founders Fireside: The Ones Who Scaled
Evening
- THE SCALE WITHOUT BORDERS GALA
- Awards Presentation · Black-Tie Dinner · Closing Ceremony
Four editions. One city. Compounding impact.
The founding vision becomes real. 15 speakers. One room. One idea.
Governor Seyi Makinde takes the stage. The state shows up for its founders.
60+ speakers. 30+ partners. 15+ media partners. The US Consul General. The AfDB. The world notices.
Africa's biggest edition yet — 3,000+ in person, 50,000+ online. You are here for this one.
This room is for you if you are building, investing, governing, or funding Africa's next chapter.
Founders
The builders. The visionaries. The ones who said yes when everyone else said too soon.
Investors
Venture capital. Angel networks. Family offices. Development finance institutions. All looking for the same thing.
Policymakers
The officials who understand that regulation and innovation are not enemies.
Corporates
The organisations that know the best deals happen outside the boardroom.
International
Investors, institutions, and organisations from 40+ countries who have learned to follow where Africa is heading.
Media
The journalists and platforms telling Africa's story the way it deserves to be told.
A few of ISF Forum's past sponsors & partners
Government, financial institutions, technology companies, and the newsrooms of record have stood behind this room.
The room fills fast.
November 27–28. ICC Ibadan.
Attended by 5,000+ professionals across four editions. Secure checkout.