AI Preneur 2025: Africa’s Innovation Economy Steps Into the Age of Intelligence

AI Preneur 2025, the flagship innovation program of Remostart, convened Africa’s brightest minds in artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, and digital innovation for a transformative gathering that blended startup pitches, immersive panel discussions, and visionary keynote sessions.

The conference, convened by Dr. Ayo and Ese Williams, opened with a rousing address that positioned the event as a defining moment for Africa’s innovation journey. “Africa is not just catching up; Africa can lead,” Williams declared, capturing the spirit of a continent ready to shape the global AI narrative.

A highlight of the event was the panel session titled ‘Human Touch Meets AI Power’, featuring thought leaders David Lanre Messan, Usman Imana, and Odemakinde Elisha. The panelists underscored the importance of ensuring AI remains a tool that amplifies human potential rather than replaces it — emphasizing that technology must serve humanity’s creative and social purpose.

The session set the stage for two captivating keynote presentations by Nils Kakoseos and Rama Zomaletho, who explored the themes “Consciousness in the Age of AI” and “AI Labs: The Panacea to Africa’s Intelligence Challenge.” They challenged participants to view AI as an extension of human intent and called for the establishment of more AI Labs as a foundation for Africa’s intellectual and technological independence.

The event spotlighted the official launch of the Remostart AI Labs, unveiled through an engaging AI Labs Hackathon that attracted over 81 applications, narrowed to 10 teams and 5 finalists developing real-world, AI-driven solutions. The finalists — Wakamate, Meab, ImpactAI (GTM), AliveHomes, and DevAssist — presented innovations tackling challenges in business development, proptech, software development, and food safety.

Remostart AI Labs is envisioned as a hands-on hub empowering African startups to build, test, and scale AI-powered solutions rapidly. It provides access to resources, mentorship, and collaborative spaces that enable entrepreneurs to experiment boldly, fail fast, and grow stronger.

In a memorable Spotlight Session, COO of Remostart, Daniel Effiom, delivered a talk titled ‘Fail Fast Learn Faster’. He urged entrepreneurs to view failure as a vital step in innovation, emphasizing Remostart’s philosophy of supporting startups to fail fast, learn fast, and grow fast. Effiom also highlighted the company’s extensive portfolio of support services designed to nurture Africa’s next generation of AI entrepreneurs.

Ubio Obu, CEO of Remostart also delivered one of the most powerful sessions of the day, which he titled The Age of Intelligence. He said
“The ability to connect the dots in this age of intelligence is more important than the dots themselves.”

He went further to say “If your AI tools give wrong answers, it’s because they learned from you.,In every new age, you either take advantage—or you become the advantage.”while pointing out that
So many people now know what you know. Knowledge is no longer scarce; execution is the true moat”

The session was a rallying point for Africa’s innovators to stop waiting and start leading, as it left participants with fresh insights, new relationships, and a renewed commitment to building Africa’s innovation economy.

AI Preneur 2025 would not have been possible without the vision and backing of key stakeholders, each of whom is actively shaping Africa’s innovation economy, and directly enabling the next generation of AI startups.

Whilst Proteus AI is a no-code infrastructure that enables entrepreneurs to build conversational AI agents across platforms like WhatsApp, Slack, and Telegram, their commitment to supporting African startups offers tools that streamline HR processes, onboarding, and team integration to boost productivity and belonging.

On his part, Co-Founder of Proteus AI, Wale Ayandiran emphasised the challenge founders face in accessing essential tools. “That’s why we’re thrilled to support initiatives like the AI Labs Hackathon and AI-Preneur events, offering platform credits to selected startups to help them deploy AI solutions, manage teams, and fast-track their go-to-market strategies.”

With AI Preneur 2025, Remostart has set a new benchmark for Africa’s innovation ecosystem — one where technology, creativity, and human potential converge to define the continent’s digital future.