The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has entered into a strategic partnership with the All Africa Intellectual Property (IP) Summit to strengthen the use of intellectual property as a tool for boosting intra-African trade, industrialisation, innovation and the continent’s creative economy.
The partnership will support the 7th All Africa Intellectual Property Summit, scheduled to take place from November 11 to 13, 2026, in Nairobi, Kenya, under the theme: “Mainstreaming Intellectual Property for Africa’s Trade, Industrial & Creative Economy Transformation.”
The collaboration comes as African countries advance the development of a continental intellectual property framework under the AfCFTA. In February 2026, the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union approved eight of the nine Annexes under the AfCFTA Protocol on Intellectual Property Rights, representing a major step towards establishing a continent-wide IP ecosystem.
The approved Annexes cover utility models; traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources; plant variety protection; patents; marks; industrial designs; geographical indications; and copyright and related rights.
The partnership is expected to provide a platform for policymakers, intellectual property institutions, businesses, innovators, creators, investors, academics and development partners to examine how intellectual property can be integrated more effectively into Africa’s trade and industrial development.
According to the AfCFTA Secretariat, the collaboration will also bring a continental trade and integration perspective to policy and technical discussions at the Summit, including deliberations on implementing the AfCFTA Protocol on Intellectual Property Rights.
AfCFTA Secretary-General, H.E. Wamkele Mene, said the adoption of the eight Annexes represented an important milestone but stressed the need to translate the framework into tangible economic opportunities.
“The adoption of eight Annexes to the AfCFTA Protocol on Intellectual Property Rights represents an important step in building a continental framework that supports African innovation, creativity and enterprise,” Mene said.
He added that the focus should now shift towards practical implementation and stronger connections between intellectual property and other drivers of economic development.
“The task before us is to translate this framework into practical opportunities for African businesses, innovators and creators,” he said.
Mene said the partnership would help strengthen the link between intellectual property, trade, investment and industrialisation as Africa moves towards a more integrated continental market.
Intellectual property is increasingly regarded as an important economic asset for businesses and creators, particularly as African economies seek to expand the commercial value of innovation, brands, creative works, technology and other intangible assets.
The AfCFTA framework is expected to help create a stronger environment for African enterprises and innovators to protect and commercialise their intellectual assets, potentially supporting competitiveness, investment, access to finance, partnerships and market expansion.
Summit to focus on commercialisation and innovation
The three-day Nairobi Summit will combine high-level policy dialogue, technical sessions and private-sector engagement.
Key areas of discussion will include implementation of the AfCFTA intellectual property framework, IP commercialisation, innovation and technology transfer, creative industries, industrial transformation and strategies for African businesses to use intellectual property to expand their markets.
The Summit will also feature research and policy perspectives through its Call for Papers, while an Innovation Pavilion will showcase African innovations, creative works, intellectual assets and businesses.
The pavilion is expected to provide opportunities for innovators to interact with investors, institutions and potential commercial partners, reinforcing the Summit’s focus on turning intellectual assets into economic opportunities.
The organisers also expect participants to consider and adopt the Nairobi Declaration on Intellectual Property and Africa’s Economic Transformation, which is expected to outline strategic priorities for strengthening the role of the AfCFTA IP regime in Africa’s trade and industrial development agenda.
Chairman of the All Africa Intellectual Property Summit, Mr. Sand Mba Kalu, described the partnership with the AfCFTA Secretariat as timely as the continent moves towards implementing its intellectual property framework.
“Our partnership with the AfCFTA Secretariat comes at an important moment for Africa’s intellectual property landscape,” Kalu said.
He said the Summit would provide an opportunity to bring together government, business, innovation and creative-sector stakeholders to examine how intellectual property could generate tangible economic value.
“As the continent advances implementation of the AfCFTA intellectual property framework, the Summit provides an opportunity to bring policy, business, innovation and creativity together and examine how intellectual property can generate tangible economic value,” he said.
Kalu added that the organisers expected the Nairobi meeting to attract stakeholders from across Africa and beyond.
Linking IP with Africa’s continental market
The partnership comes against the broader backdrop of the AfCFTA’s efforts to establish a single African market and deepen economic integration among African countries.
The AfCFTA Agreement entered into force in May 2019 and brings together the 55 member states of the African Union in a market of about 1.4 billion people, with a combined GDP of approximately US$3.4 trillion, according to the Secretariat.
The development of a continental intellectual property framework is intended to complement these trade integration efforts by establishing common approaches to the protection and use of intellectual assets across areas including patents, trademarks, copyright, geographical indications and traditional knowledge.
For African businesses and creators seeking to operate across borders, effective intellectual property protection can be important in protecting brands and innovations while creating opportunities for licensing, commercial partnerships and investment.
The Nairobi Summit will therefore provide a platform for stakeholders to discuss not only policy and regulatory issues but also the practical challenges businesses and innovators face in converting intellectual property into commercially viable assets.
The 7th All Africa Intellectual Property Summit will be held in Nairobi from November 11–13, 2026. Organisers have invited policymakers, businesses, innovators, creators, investors, academics, financial institutions, intellectual property practitioners and development partners from Africa and beyond to participate in the event.
