More than 12,000 people from across Africa and beyond attended the inaugural Blockfest Africa in 2025, transforming what started as a community-driven Web3 gathering into one of the continent’s more prominent platforms for conversations around blockchain and emerging technology.

But as Blockfest Africa returns for its second edition, its ambition is expanding beyond simply bringing the Web3 community together.

Blockfest Africa 2026, scheduled for October 22 and 23 at the National Arts Theatre in Lagos, will convene builders, digital talent, investors, policymakers, businesses and other stakeholders across the technology ecosystem under the theme, “New Trade Routes: Bringing Africa Onchain.”

The theme reflects a broader shift in Africa’s digital economy, where blockchain and other emerging technologies are increasingly moving beyond technical conversations to intersect with payments, investment, digital infrastructure, regulation, employment and the creative economy.

The two-day event will feature tracks covering talent and career launchpad, investment and funding, technical infrastructure, AI and blockchain, government and policy and creative economy.

A major focus of the 2026 edition will be the talent and career launchpad, created to connect emerging talent with companies, professionals and opportunities within the wider digital economy.

For young Africans entering technology and digital entrepreneurship, access to information is increasingly only the beginning. Building sustainable careers and businesses also requires networks, capital, practical skills and opportunities to participate in emerging markets.

Blockfest Africa will therefore combine practical workshops and masterclasses with opportunities for startups and young professionals to interact with founders, engineers, investors, policymakers and other ecosystem players.

The approach reflects a growing shift within technology communities—from creating spaces where people can learn about emerging technologies to building practical pathways through which they can participate in and benefit from them.

The evolution of Blockfest Africa is also tied to the community behind it. At the centre is Samuel Olaoyenikan, popularly known as XeusTheGreat, founder of Nirvana Academy, a blockchain education and mentorship platform focused on helping young Africans understand and participate in the emerging digital economy.

The inaugural edition was supported by a broader team of professionals working across marketing, creative direction, media, operations, logistics and community development. They included Sarah Idahosa, founder of Women In DeFi; Idris Olubisi, founder of Web3 Afrika; Amarachi Nwachukwu, who led marketing; and Oreoluwa Zebulun Ajayi, who handled creative direction and media, alongside members of the wider operations and logistics team.

The first edition also brought regulators, government officials, founders, engineers and ecosystem leaders into the same space.

Speakers included former Securities and Exchange Commission Nigeria Director General Emomotimi Agama and Lagos State Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Hon. Mobolaji Ogunlende Abubakre, alongside voices from blockchain education, infrastructure, fintech and Web3 communities.

The mix of grassroots builders and institutional stakeholders underscored the changing nature of the blockchain conversation as the technology increasingly intersects with regulation, investment, payments, ownership and economic participation.

The 2026 programme will begin on October 22 with practical workshops and The Back Room, a closed-door session designed to facilitate conversations between founders and investors.

The main conference will hold on October 23, featuring keynote sessions, ecosystem tracks and an exhibition floor. Discussions will also explore the growing intersection of artificial intelligence, blockchain, open infrastructure, technology careers, government policy, investment and the creative economy.

By bringing these conversations under one roof, Blockfest Africa is positioning itself around an increasingly interconnected digital economy, where developments in one area can create opportunities—or challenges—in another.

The 2026 edition will have industry backing, with Nigerian fintech company Monica serving as Headline Sponsor and Cake Wallet returning as a Silver Sponsor after supporting the inaugural event in 2025.

For the organisers, the next phase is not simply about increasing attendance. It is about turning the connections created by the festival into tangible opportunities.

As Blockfest Africa returns to Lagos, its expanding programme points to a bigger question facing Africa’s digital economy: how can the continent move from being an audience for emerging technologies to becoming an active participant in building the infrastructure, businesses, careers and markets that will shape them?

That question will sit at the heart of the conversation when the second edition of Blockfest Africa takes place in Lagos in October.