The London Africa Network (LAN) has officially launched its 2026 chapter with a full-day programme at The Africa Centre in London, bringing together founders, investors, operators, ecosystem builders, and new members around the growing momentum of the UK-Africa innovation corridor.

The event marked the beginning of a new chapter for the network, combining daytime sessions with an evening dedicated to connection and community building. Organisers described the gathering as a reflection of LAN’s core mission: creating a platform where relationships, ideas, and opportunities translate into practical collaboration between the UK and Africa.

A central feature of the day was the transformation of The Africa Centre into an African Tech Pop-Up Hub, providing a dynamic space for visibility, exchange, and engagement across multiple parts of the ecosystem. Among the highlights was a workshop delivered in collaboration with Itana - a Nigeria-based company building the first Digital Free Zone in Africa - and the UK-Africa Sandbox - an UK-based Accelerator for African Startups to scale and raise capital in the UK, focused on the realities and opportunities of building across African markets. The programme also featured the UK-Africa Founders Gallery, showcasing the stories and journeys of companies and entrepreneurs operating across the corridor.

The event also spotlighted several partner delegations and initiatives. These included a delegation of founders and tech leaders from the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as the Royal Academy of Engineering, which used the occasion to announce the finalists of its Africa Prize.

The London Africa Network’s first gathering of 2026 was sponsored and co-organised by Briter, a fast-growing data intelligence platform focused on emerging and frontier markets.

The event also attracted attention from ecosystem leaders active across Africa, the GCC and Europe. For Giulia Ajmone Marsan, it highlighted the importance of building stronger bridges between regional innovation ecosystems. Her work with the Africa-GCC Council, alongside with their colleagues Chrystèle Sanon, Founder and President of UAEFI - United Afro Experts, Gonçalo Terenas, President of the Africa GCC Council, and Miguel Cordeiro, Founder of MyBusiness.com, is part of a wider effort to deepen connections between the Africa-GCC region and London’s technology and innovation ecosystem.


The event underscored the role London continues to play as a bridge between African and global innovation ecosystems, while highlighting how community-led platforms such as LAN are deepening relationships among founders, institutions, investors, and support organisations.

With its 2026 chapter now officially underway, the London Africa Network is looking ahead to the coming months, with London Tech Week already emerging as the next major opportunity to build visibility, partnerships and cross-border momentum.