Participants meeting and talking at YAIS IV.

The fifth edition 2027

Yale AfricaInnovationSymposium

15 – 17 April 2027Yale University, New Haven

Inside YAIS IV

This is YAIS

African innovation.
A meeting of minds.

A student-led symposium at Yale, bringing students together with entrepreneurs, researchers and practitioners working across African industries.

At its centre are the Innovation Labs: small working groups exploring cases developed with industry leaders. Past programmes have also included conversations on stage, networking events and a gala celebrating African culture.

Inside YAIS IV

The fourth edition / 2026

Step inside
YAIS IV.

Three days of conversations, Innovation Labs and time together at Yale.

16 – 18 April 2026 · 3-minute film

Explore the fourth edition

The symposium, up close

What happens at YAIS.

A look inside YAIS IV, 2026. The fifth edition’s programme will be announced.

A participant in a tan jacket explaining an idea to others around a Lab table.
Innovation Labs · YAIS IV

At the centre of YAIS

Innovation Labs

Work through a practical challenge with an industry leader and a small team of participants. Develop proposals together, then present your thinking to the room.

Past Labs have explored education, entrepreneurship, health technology and agriculture.

A speaker holding a microphone, seated beside another speaker in white on stage.
On stage · YAIS IV

Conversations on stage

Perspectives on African business, research and public life, with questions from the audience. Past programmes have also included the Great Debate.

Two guests in traditional dress dancing together at the YAIS IV gala.
The gala · YAIS IV

The YAIS gala

An evening of music, dance and time together, celebrating African culture beyond the daytime sessions.

A person sharing information with participants around a table at YAIS IV.
Between sessions · YAIS IV

Meeting one another

Time with fellow participants and people working across African industries. YAIS IV included a welcome kickback, social events and company networking.

Discover the people and case subjects behind these past programmes.

Explore past programmes
Participants gathered in the auditorium at YAIS IV.
YAIS IV · 2026

YAIS II · III · IV / 2024 – 2026

Past speakers & Lab leaders.

A selection from three editions, spanning business, public service, education, health and technology.

The YAIS V lineup will be announced separately.

1–4 of 15

Roles shown as recorded for each edition.

Inside the working sessions / YAIS IV

From a case
to a proposal.

  1. Understand the challenge

    Begin with a case developed with an industry leader.

  2. Work through it together

    Explore its causes and possible approaches in a small team.

  3. Present your thinking

    Share the team’s proposal with the room.

Two participants working at laptops beside tall windows.
Lab working session · YAIS IV
A participant holding a microphone and gesturing as teammates stand beside him, with seated audience members in the foreground.
Presenting to the room · YAIS IV

The continent at the centre

Explore the impact
we’re building together.

Start with the places, questions and Innovation Labs that have brought us together.

YAIS case studies across Africa

Countries connected through YAIS

Select a gold country to explore.

Zimbabwe / YAIS I

Connecting learning to opportunity.

In Zimbabwe, Uncommon.org builds solar-powered computer labs and offers free technology education. Its YAIS case asked how to make the internet access behind that work financially sustainable.

Uncommon.org

Zimbabwe / YAIS I

YAIS and Uncommon.org.

A recommendation from the first YAIS Innovation Lab helped Uncommon.org switch to Starlink, leaving more of its budget available for free technology education in Zimbabwe.

Uncommon.org has sponsored YAIS every year since then.

Annual data costs

Before Starlink
$17,000
After Starlink
About $2,400About $200 a month
Explore past YAIS
Two guests in conversation beside a window at the jazz soirée.
Jazz soirée · YAIS IV

A fifth chapter

From an idea
to five editions.

Founded by Abigail Ndikum, YAIS is shaped by successive student teams and a wider community of collaborators. The fifth edition takes place at Yale on 15 – 17 April 2027.

The people behind YAIS