LAGOS, NIGERIA: CWG Plc has concluded the fifth edition of its TeXcellence Conference, reinforcing its commitment to advancing discussions on Africa’s digital development and the conditions required to translate technological innovation into sustainable economic value.
Held on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, at the Landmark Event Centre in Lagos, TeXcellence 5.0 convened business leaders, policymakers, technology practitioners and other stakeholders under the theme Accelerating Africa’s Digital Future. The conference examined the practical demands of digital transformation, including enterprise adoption of artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure, financial services, cybersecurity, talent development and the creative economy.
In his welcome address, Adewale Adeyipo, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of CWG Plc, challenged participants to assess the continent’s progress against three questions: Are we moving faster? Are we moving in the right direction? And is the force sustaining that progress strong enough to maintain it?
The questions, he argued, are central to any serious assessment of acceleration. Greater activity and technological adoption must be matched by clear priorities, reliable infrastructure and the capacity to sustain progress over time.
“ Africa has never suffered from a shortage of speed. What we’ve often lacked is direction and a sustained force,” Adeyipo said.
His remarks placed particular emphasis on the relationship between innovation, infrastructure and the commercial strength of African technology businesses. As the sector attracts more substantial financing, companies must demonstrate the financial discipline and operational capacity required to deliver consistently, serve growing markets and sustain long-term growth.
“African tech companies are no longer being financed as an experiment. Our organizations are now being seen as a real company, against revenue, receivables, and strong balance sheets,” he said.
Adeyipo cited approximately $4.1 billion in funding for African technology companies in 2025, comprising equity and debt financing. He noted that debt accounted for a substantially larger share of the funding mix than it did in 2019, reflecting a changing investment environment in which the financial performance and resilience of technology businesses matter increasingly.
He also drew attention to the disparity between Africa’s population and its share of global data centre capacity, highlighting the infrastructure gap that must be addressed if the continent is to support its expanding digital ambitions. Innovation, he maintained, requires dependable infrastructure capable of supporting business operations, digital services and economic activity at scale.
The address reflected a central concern running through TeXcellence 5.0: the need to align Africa’s technological ambition with the systems, institutions and business capabilities that make progress sustainable.
That concern was explored across the conference programme. Sessions examined the practical application of artificial intelligence in African enterprises, the development of digital public infrastructure, the role of trust and identity in digital finance, and the conditions required for African creative businesses to develop and retain value from their intellectual property. Discussions also considered the relationship between talent, opportunity and the continent’s digital future.
The conference’s fifth edition marks a significant milestone for CWG’s flagship platform. Across its editions, TeXcellence has provided a forum for stakeholders from the public and private sectors to examine the opportunities and constraints shaping Africa’s technology ecosystem. Its continued focus on these issues reflects CWG’s interest in the broader environment in which African businesses adopt technology, develop capabilities and compete.
For CWG, sustaining this platform is part of a wider commitment to the development of enterprise technology and the advancement of Africa’s digital economy. The company’s perspective is grounded in the operational realities facing businesses: technology must be dependable, fit for purpose and supported by the infrastructure and expertise required to deliver business value.
As the continent’s digital economy expands, the questions raised at TeXcellence 5.0 will remain relevant to companies, investors and policymakers alike. The task ahead is to ensure that investment produces lasting capability, innovation is supported by reliable systems, and the momentum behind Africa’s digital development can be sustained.
