May 28, 4:00 – 6:00 PM (UTC)
Is Africa truly on the verge of a deep tech revolution – or are we just rebranding old ideas? Join our panel of founders, investors, and ecosystem builders as we separate signal from noise, explore where real value is being built, and set the stage for Startup Grind Nairobi Week (10–14 Aug).
For years, the African startup story has been told through fintech apps, logistics platforms, and consumer marketplaces , “Uber for X” models that iterate on existing global templates. But a new narrative is emerging: one of proprietary algorithms, hardware systems, blockchain infrastructure, and artificial intelligence built on the continent, by Africans, for the world.
Is this finally Africa’s deep tech moment? Or are we getting carried away with buzzwords while the real challenges, undercapitalisation, brain drain, weak R&D-to-market pipelines , remain unsolved?
This webinar is the first conversation in a series leading up to Startup Grind Nairobi Week 2026: The Deep Tech Frontier (10–14 August, Nairobi). We are bringing together a panel of deep tech founders, investors who have placed bets on frontier tech in Africa, and ecosystem builders who have seen cycles come and go.
What we will cover:
1. What counts as “deep tech” in the African context ,and what doesn’t.
2. The state of investment: where is capital actually flowing (AI, robotics, biotech, blockchain, IoT)?
3. Why world‑class engineering talent in Nairobi, Lagos, and Cape Town remains chronically underfunded.
4. Real examples of African deep tech companies building proprietary, hard‑to‑copy technology.
5. The role of regulators, universities, and corporates in turning R&D into revenue.
6. What to expect at the August event , and how you can be part of the largest deep tech gathering in East Africa.
Who should attend?
Founders, CTOs, engineers, investors (angel to institutional), policy advisors, university researchers, and anyone tired of shallow tech conversations and hungry for the real thing.
The conversation on 28 May will directly shape the content, speakers, and themes of our 5‑day August event.
SustainLaunch Labs
Founder & CEO
ZETECH UNIVERSITY
MANAGER, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
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