Kenya, one of the cradles of human history, has long been a place of innovation. Today, Kenya is home to the Silicon Savannah, taking its history of innovation from stone tools to emerging technologies.
In less than six weeks, from June 2-5, Nairobi will become the centre of a global conversation about the future of data and space technology for sustainable development. The joint Global Data Festival and Kenya Space Expo & Conference is just around the corner, and the program being built for it is set to inspire innovation and spark collaboration.
We’re excited to share a first look at some of the sessions you can join, with insights from session organizers and event sponsors.
Nairobi is a living hub of innovation. Kenya’s bold spirit of creativity and collaboration makes it the perfect place to co-create solutions that transcend borders, connecting communities on Earth and beyond. At the Global Data Festival and Kenya Space Expo & Conference, data, satellites, and AI are not just tools but catalysts for reimagining the future.
Annita Mwagiru, Project Officer, Capacity Development, Global Partnership
Co-creating an inclusive agenda
The teams for KNBS, KSA, and the Global Partnership are co-creating an agenda that will include over 100 sessions, from presentations to hands-on workshops, catalytic conversations, peer exchanges, and more. The sessions will reflect both the breadth of each organization's agenda and the significant common ground between them.
That common ground extends to the principles of the event and our shared commitment to delivering an inclusive experience. To bring expert guidance in inclusive design, Sightsavers has joined as an event sponsor and serves as our accessibility advisor. Beyond making our event in Nairobi more accessible and inclusive, Sightsavers will be running the Inclusion Pavilion to help all attendees learn more about how to make data systems more inclusive:
By working together, we can build data systems that underpin inclusive, sustainable development, which benefits everyone. By visiting our inclusion pavilion, delegates can see how integral equity for people with disabilities is to their work, to the achievement of national development and sector plans and to the delivery of the SDGs and the future of development.
Fiona Lawless, Health Policy Adviser, Sightsavers
Uniting on a shared stage
A thread running through the program is the deliberate effort to bring the data and space communities into the same room to explore opportunities for strategic collaboration and coordination that can advance our shared agendas.
One session putting that ambition into practice is The Builders Reality Room — Where Ecosystems Talk. Rather than a panel discussion, it stages a live ecosystem simulation, bringing together the diverse roles that enable data and innovation in a real-time dialogue. Yariwo Kitiyo, Founder of Geohabari, who is organising the session, describes the shift they are hoping to catalyze:
Progress in the space economy and innovation depends on how well the ecosystem moves together. The shift we’d like to see from this session is a stronger systems mindset away from siloed efforts toward coordinated action, with a clearer understanding of the role data plays in socioeconomic development and a deeper appreciation that progress in innovation is built collectively across the ecosystem.
Yariwo Kitiyo, Founder, Geohabari
The same ambition to move from fragmented effort to structured collaboration shapes the peer exchange From Satellite to Startup: Unlocking Earth Observation Data for AI in Africa. Saba Tiku, Junior Advisor on AI for Economic Development at GIZ African Union's AI Made in Africa initiative, points to a gap that the session is directly addressing:
Across Africa, access to Earth Observation datasets has improved, yet their use in deployable AI services remains limited. If we get this right, we move from fragmented experimentation to structured pipelines where EO data supports locally developed solutions in agriculture, climate resilience, and public decision-making.
Saba Tiku, Junior Advisor, AI for Economic Development, AI Made in Africa, GIZ African Union
Not every session is oriented toward new technologies and scale. Some of the most important conversations in the program centre on who is counted in data, and how we improve the data systems needed to enable innovations and new technologies that leave no one behind.
Julia De Kadt and Sheru W. Muuo of Sightsavers are bringing one such conversation to the stage in their lightning talk, Inclusive Early Learning Data: Insights from Disability-Inclusive Assessments in Kenya:
One shift we hope to see is greater recognition of the importance of disability-inclusive assessments in early learning. By highlighting insights from Kenya, we hope to inspire others to consider how inclusive data can drive more equitable educational opportunities for all children.
–Julia De Kadt and Sheru W. Muuo of Sightsavers
Beyond the session rooms
The event program extends well beyond the stage. A shared expo space allows attendees to engage directly with organizations and experts working across the data, statistics, and space dimensions of the event. Peer learning sessions and training labs are designed to build the practical skills that connect ideas to implementation.
Just as important as the formal program is the opportunity to connect. This event brings together a diverse community, including statisticians, space experts, policymakers, civil society, data scientists, entrepreneurs, and more. Through networking sessions and social moments, attendees will exchange with peers as well as people they would rarely share a room with.
Kenya has been a place of innovation since before recorded history. In Nairobi, this June, that spirit continues. The full agenda will be live soon. Sign up for the newsletter for updates and announcements.
Register now to secure your spot.
