The seventh edition of the annual All Africa Intellectual Property Rights Summit is scheduled to take place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 11 to 13 November 2026.  This year’s theme is ‘Mainstreaming Intellectual Property for Africa’s Trade, Industrial and Creative Economy Transformation’.

As in previous years, the summit is expected to bring together hundreds of delegates from different sectors across Africa and globally, including IP legal experts; policy makers and government officials; academia; innovators and entrepreneurs; and civil society.

Following the positive outcomes of the 2025 installment (themed ‘Building an Inclusive IP Ecosystem for Africa’s Future’), the objectives of this year’s edition include: a focus on IP policy alignment, institutional collaboration and harmonised legal frameworks; economic transformation through building a culture of IP awareness in Africa; IP commercialisation by turning creative ideas into income; positioning IP at the centre of trade, industrialisation and creative economy growth; and IP protection as a tool to empower African businesses and creatives.   

The summit continues to raise awareness of the significance of IP and IP protection as strategic tools for economic development and transformation on the continent. As Africa is experiencing a renewed focus on economic development and innovation, the importance of improved, modernised and effective legal frameworks and policies, as well as strengthened administrative capacity – all foundational to IP protection – cannot be overstated. These are essential to realise the economic value of IP as highlighted in this year’s summit. It is hoped that the summit deliberations will also highlight these priorities to stakeholders to encourage further progress and accelerated development in the continent’s IP landscape.

The summit is an initiative of the Africa Intellectual Property Centre, an organisation established in 2019 by the International Trade and Research Centre.