{
  "id": 10683125,
  "title": "Africa’s digital economy is Accelerating — and TeXcellence 5.0 is putting scale at the centre",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/africas-digital-economy-is-accelerating-and-texcellence-5-0-is",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-29T11:46:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Nairametrics",
    "slug": "nairametrics",
    "url": "https://nairametrics.com/2026/09/29/africas-digital-economy-is-accelerating-and-texcellence-5-0-is-putting-scale-at-the-centre/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "African digital transformation is encountering a more challenging phase, as the continent moves into a new era of digital adoption and productivity. In recent years, progress has been made in digital payments, cloud adoption, mobile connectivity, fintech, e-commerce, and technology-enabled services. Artificial intelligence is also generating new opportunities, while governments are increasingly investing in digital infrastructure and public services. However, growth in digital adoption is presenting fresh economic challenges. The main questions surrounding African digital transformation include whether infrastructure can keep up with demand, if businesses can scale technology investments into productivity, and if financial systems can become interoperable enough to support seamless regional commerce. Ensuring that governments create digital public infrastructure to reduce friction for citizens and businesses is also crucial. Another critical question is whether Africa can attract sufficient long-term capital to build the required systems for its next stage of growth. These questions will be the focus of discussions at TeXcellence 5.0, which will take place on October 13, 2026, at the Landmark Event Centre in Lagos. The conference, organized by CWG Plc, will delve into the theme of \"Accelerating Africa's Digital Future.\" The evolution of the conference's theme underscores the increasing maturity of Africa's technology conversation. While TeXcellence 3.0 in 2024 focused on \"Revealing Tomorrow,\" exploring the technologies and trends likely to shape industries, and TeXcellence 4.0 in 2025 addressed \"Future-Forward Africa,\" emphasizing competitiveness and what African businesses need to participate effectively in the global digital economy, TeXcellence 5.0 shifts the focus towards execution. The conference will prioritize closing the gap between innovation and productivity, as well as scaling technology investments. Banks, fintechs, payment processors, and mobile-money platforms have driven significant adoption, but the challenge remains to create a more interconnected financial infrastructure, reducing fragmentation and increasing the cost and complexity of cross-border commerce. TeXcellence 5.0 will devote significant attention to Africa's financial infrastructure, focusing on interoperability, settlement systems, and the technologies needed to move value more efficiently across the continent. With companies moving beyond experimentation, executives are seeking clearer answers regarding return on investment in AI applications and the infrastructure and governance required to transition from isolated pilots to enterprise-wide deployment. Digital government is becoming increasingly vital for economic infrastructure, with identity systems, data exchange, digital payments, and citizen-service platforms playing a crucial role in reducing transaction costs across entire economies. A dedicated conversation on GovTech at TeXcellence will explore the design of an African digital public infrastructure stack that enables private-sector innovation at scale. The conference will also address trust, digital identity, fraud, and cybersecurity, as digital platforms become an increasingly significant portion of economic activity. Furthermore, TeXcellence 5.0 will bring the creative economy onto the broader digital-growth conversation, tackling issues of intellectual property, ownership, distribution, and building globally competitive creative enterprises. The conference will bring together executives, policymakers, technology builders, and business leaders from various African markets, including prominent figures such as Dr. Joe Abah, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, Dotun Adeoye, Mosope Okanlawon, Ifeoluwa Johnson, Ernest Mbenkum, Collin Babirukamu, Rowena Turinawe, Togbe Romaric Agbagla, Stella Fubara, and C.J. \"Kenneth\" Gyang. While previous editions of TeXcellence have convened thousands of participants and senior executives around Africa's technology and business agenda, the central question for this edition is about effectively converting technology into productivity, stronger institutions, scalable businesses, and regional economic opportunities. This marks a crucial turning point where digital transformation becomes economic transformation, a shift that Africa's technology conversation must embrace to continue growing.",
  "summary": "Africa’s digital transformation is entering a more demanding phase.Over the past decade, significant progress has been made across digital payments, cloud adoption, mobile connectivity, fintech, e-commerce and technology-enabled services. Artificial intelligence is now creating another wave of opportunity, while governments across the continent are investing more deliberately in digital…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Nairametrics",
        "title": "Mastercard champions a more connected digital future for Africa at GITEX Nigeria 2026",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/mastercard-champions-a-more-connected-digital-future-for-africa-at",
        "published": "2026-09-29T10:03:39.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}