The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has announced a strategic partnership with the All-Africa Intellectual Property Summit to promote intellectual property as a driver of intra-African trade, industrialisation, innovation and the continent’s creative economy.
The partnership will support the seventh All Africa Intellectual Property Summit, scheduled to take place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 11 to 13 November 2026. The event will be held under the theme: “Mainstreaming Intellectual Property for Africa’s Trade, Industrial and Creative Economy Transformation.”
The summit comes at a significant stage in the development of Africa’s continental intellectual property framework. In February 2026, the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union approved eight of the nine Annexes to the AfCFTA Protocol on Intellectual Property Rights.
The approved Annexes cover utility models; traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources; plant variety protection; patents; marks; industrial designs; geographical indications; and copyright and related rights.
The three-day summit will bring together policymakers, intellectual property institutions and practitioners, businesses, innovators, creators, academics, investors, financial institutions and development partners. Participants will explore how intellectual property can be integrated more effectively into Africa’s trade, industrial and economic transformation.
The AfCFTA Secretariat will contribute the continental trade and integration perspective to policy and technical discussions, particularly those concerning implementation of the AfCFTA Protocol on Intellectual Property Rights.
The continental intellectual property framework is intended to strengthen the ability of African businesses, innovators and creators to protect and derive greater commercial value from their inventions, brands, creative works and other intangible assets. It is also expected to strengthen business competitiveness, facilitate commercialisation and expand access to finance, investment, partnerships and new markets.
AfCFTA Secretary-General H.E. Wamkele Mene described the adoption of the eight Annexes as an important step towards establishing a continental framework that supports African innovation, creativity and enterprise.
“The task before us is to translate this framework into practical opportunities for African businesses, innovators and creators,” he said, adding that the partnership would strengthen the connection between intellectual property, trade, investment and industrialisation as Africa builds an integrated market.
The summit programme will feature high-level policy dialogue, technical sessions and private-sector engagements. Discussions will cover intellectual property commercialisation, innovation and technology transfer, creative industries, industrial transformation and opportunities for African enterprises to use intellectual property strategically for growth and market expansion.
An Innovation Pavilion will also showcase African inventions, creative products, intellectual assets and businesses while connecting innovators with investors, institutions and prospective commercial partners. Research and policy recommendations submitted through the summit’s Call for Papers will further inform the discussions.
The event is expected to conclude with the adoption of the Nairobi Declaration on Intellectual Property and Africa’s Economic Transformation, outlining strategic priorities for integrating the AfCFTA intellectual property regime into the continent’s trade and industrial-development agenda.
Chairman of the All-Africa Intellectual Property Summit, Mr Sand Mba Kalu, said the partnership comes at a critical moment as Africa moves towards implementing its continental intellectual property framework.
“The summit provides an opportunity to bring policy, business, innovation and creativity together and examine how intellectual property can generate tangible economic value,” he said.
The organisers have invited stakeholders from Africa and beyond to participate in the summit and contribute to efforts to transform the continent’s evolving intellectual property framework into practical opportunities for businesses, innovators and creators.
