MWC26 Kigali – Event postponed
Start: Tuesday 16 June 2026 08:00
End: Thursday 18 June 2026 18:00
Venue: Kigali Convention Centre
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Tuesday, 2 June 2026: MWC26 Kigali has been postponed.
We recognise the inconvenience this may cause to our participants and appreciate their understanding. A new date will be announced in due course, and we look forward to convening the African continent’s most influential connectivity event again soon.
Creating meaningful impact
For almost two decades, the Mobile for Development team has been devoted to unlocking the potential of digital and mobile innovation to address the inequalities of our world.
By producing actionable research, advocating for change, de-risking innovation and providing technical assistance, and by creating impactful partnerships between innovators, mobile operators, governments and donors, we are contributing to building a world where no one is left behind. Our collective work has already reached over 260 million lives – and counting.
MWC26 Kigali, the three-day event is organised by the GSMA, with the support of the Ministry of ICT and Innovation of Rwanda, and will explore the themes of Connected AI, Fintech and Commerce, Digital Africa and Intelligent Infrastructure.
Following the success of previous iterations, we will once again be hosting a dedicated ‘Mobile for Development Theatre’, providing a unique platform for insightful keynotes, panels and discussions around topics climate, digital public infrastructure, financial health, emerging technologies including AI, digital inclusion and gender, humanitarian innovation and startup innovation, together with the return of the Mobile Money Leadership Forum on Tuesday, 16 June.
As we prepare for another impactful MWC Kigali, we invite you to engage with our work, be part of the conversation, and explore opportunities to build meaningful partnerships. To learn more about the M4D activities and register your interest, please email us at M4DEvents@gsma.com!
Agenda
Day 1 | Tuesday, 16 June 2026
Tuesday, 13:30 – 14:30 CAT
Mobile network operators (MNOs) can play a unique role in supporting digital transformation in The session will start with a presentation of the SOTIR 2026 regional analysis, focusing on key findings from Africa, and conclude with a panel of industry leaders to discuss relevant trends. These include regional differences in mobile money activity and usage, mobile money provider profitability, and more.
Session and speaker details here
Location
M4D Theatre
Tuesday, 15:00 – 16:00 CAT
This session will bring together policymakers, regulators, mobile money providers and development partners to explore how countries can strike a more effective balance between domestic revenue mobilisation and affordable digital financial services that support stronger financial health.
Session and speaker details here
Location
M4D Theatre
Tuesday, 16:45 – 17:45 CAT
This session will demonstrate how MNOs can capture value in digital public infrastructure (DPI) ecosystems while supporting national digital development and identify policy and governance approaches that enable sustainable private sector participation. This also session aims to drive industry influence on DPI by articulating clear commercial pathways for MNOs, informing policy dialogue, and advancing actionable public-private collaboration models for sustainable DPI initiatives and ecosystems.
Session and speaker details here
Location
M4D Theatre
Tuesday, 09:00 – 18:00 CAT
Visit the Mobile for Development team on the GSMA stand to find out more about amazing impact we have achieved with the support of our partners.
Location
GSMA Pavilion
Day 2 | Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Wednesday, 09:30 – 10:45 CAT
Artificial intelligence is reshaping economies globally and, as a general-purpose technology, its adoption has been faster than any previous digital innovation. In less than three years, more than 1.2 billion people have used AI-enabled tools, outpacing the early adoption of both the internet and smartphones. Yet AI adoption remains deeply unequal, with usage rates in high-income economies roughly twice those observed in low- and middle-income countries (LMCIs).
Most AI systems are designed for environments with abundant compute infrastructure, high-speed connectivity and massive datasets – conditions that remain limited across many emerging markets. As a result, many AI tools remain inaccessible, unreliable or irrelevant for large segments of the global population, reinforcing existing digital divides.
In this context, a growing number of innovators and mobile operators are exploring an alternative approach: designing systems that adapt to local realities, particularly in LMICs. This includes models that work in local languages, building practical data pipelines and deploying AI at “the Edge” through decentralised infrastructure.
Drawing on new GSMA research and real-world innovations from startups deploying AI across various sectors, this session will explore the potential of local language AI and edge computing for resource-constrained environments and why data quality, accessibility and representation in LMICs are vital to delivering equitable, context-appropriate solutions. It will examine how adapting models and infrastructure can bring AI closer to users and how mobile operators, innovators and ecosystem partners can anchor a more inclusive AI paradigm.
Session and speaker details here
Location
M4D Theatre
Tuesday, 11:45 – 13:00 CAT
Women across Sub-Saharan Africa remain significantly less likely than men to use mobile internet and mobile money, with barriers disproportionately affecting them. Handset affordability is a key challenge, with women less likely than men to own an internet-enabled device. Other barriers, including digital skills, safety and security concerns, and the relevance of online content, also affect women more than men.
Closing the mobile gender gap in the region represents a major economic opportunity, with the potential to unlock $170 billion in total additional GDP over an eight-year period.
This session will share the latest insights and explore practical approaches to designing and implementing digital inclusion interventions that truly work for women. It will also discuss how these interventions can be scaled to close the mobile gender gap in the region, helping to build the digital future that Africa needs.
Session and speaker details here
Location
M4D Theatre
Tuesday, 14:15 – 15:30 CAT
AI-based solutions are developing and evolving rapidly, more rapidly than traditional impact measurement can keep up with. We need practical, robust ways to measure its real-world impact—now. This session will explore how to measure the impact of AI on ecosystems, intermediaries and end users. We’ll tackle key questions like how do we evaluate impact when tools are constantly changing? And how can we spot risks, like rising inequality, before harm occurs?
This session will bring together diverse perspectives to share what’s working, surface gaps, and highlight emerging good practices in AI impact measurement. Participants will also be invited to contribute tools, examples and ideas to a growing pool of resources for better AI impact measurement.
Session and speaker details here
Location
M4D Theatre
Tuesday, 16:15 – 17:30 CAT
The convergence of energy and digital systems is no longer a theoretical proposition.
Models such as the anchor business community approach have demonstrated both the potential and the complexity of aligning energy access with digital infrastructure. They’ve established that energy and connectivity are mutually reinforcing systems, and that neither reaches its full value in isolation.
Leading from that premise, this panel will discuss several key questions: If the value of integration is already clear, why has it not become standard practice? What barriers continue to prevent stronger collaboration? What would it take to make these partnerships more routine, scalable and commercially viable? How can closer alignment support digital inclusion and productive use of energy?
Session and speaker details here
Location
M4D Theatre
Wednesday, 09:00 – 18:00 CAT
Visit the Connectivity for Good team on the GSMA stand to find out more about amazing impact we have achieved with the support of our partners.
Location
GSMA Pavilion
Day 3 | Thursday, 18 June 2026
Thursday, 11:45 – 13:00 CAT
This interactive session explores how mobile connectivity shapes the lives of refugees and displaced populations, and what it takes to build digital ecosystems that include them more intentionally.
Using an immersive format and moderated discussion, the session will bring these issues to life through the lived journey of a refugee moving from exclusion toward connection, safety and opportunity. Alongside this human story, the session will also highlight the role of collaboration between MNOs, humanitarian organisations, innovators and policy makers in building solutions that are practical, scalable and rooted in local context.
Session and speaker details here
Location
M4D Theatre
Thursday, 09:00 – 18:00 CAT
Visit the Connectivity for Good team on the GSMA stand to find out more about amazing impact we have achieved with the support of our partners.
Location
GSMA Pavilion
Like what you read? Share.
