UK Backs Structured London Tech Week Programme for African Founders Eyeing UK Market Entry
The UK government has thrown its weight behind a new week-long programme designed to give African founders a structured pathway through London Tech Week one of the world’s largest annual technology gatherings as interest in the UK as a destination for African tech companies continues to grow.
The initiative, known as UK–Africa Ecosystem Week, runs from 7 to 10 June 2026 and is delivered by the UK–Africa Sandbox and Ventures 54, a specialist venture and policy firm. It carries the backing of the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT) Africa, the UK South Africa Tech Hub, the UK Nigeria Tech Hub, London & Partners, and the Mayor of London’s office.
From a Mixer to a Full Programme
The initiative did not emerge fully formed. According to Anthony William Catt, founder of both Ventures 54 and the UK–Africa Sandbox, what began in 2023 as a small networking mixer has evolved over four years into an increasingly structured offer, growing from facilitated expert sessions in 2024, to a dedicated convening moment for African delegations in 2025, and now into a comprehensive four-day programme spanning the full length of London Tech Week.
In a statement, Catt noted that a steady rise in African founders travelling to London Tech Week had created a clear need for organised support and that the latest expansion was about ensuring those founders could extract real value from the event, rather than leaving without meaningful connections or outcomes.
What the Programme Offers
London Tech Week draws more than 100,000 attendees across upward of 500 events. For founders arriving without preparation or local contacts, the scale of the week can make it difficult to identify and access what actually matters to them.
The programme addresses this with a concierge-style support structure: dedicated workspaces, curated session guides, and pre-arrival orientation resources. Each participating founder receives what the organisers describe as a tailored roadmap, mapped to their specific market entry goals.
The centrepiece is the UK–Africa Ecosystem Day on Wednesday, 10 June, hosted at The Forum at 40 Leadenhall Street in the City of London. The day brings together advisors and service providers across law, tax, finance, hiring, regulatory compliance, public relations, and investment, all available for one-on-one sessions and roundtables with attending founders. A closing mixer, run in partnership with the London Africa Network, follows the same evening.
The programme also runs in the other direction. Through a parallel strand called the UK Africa Tech Immersion, UK-based founders looking to enter African markets can access direct introductions to partners in South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya.
Nigerian Presence Built In
Nigeria holds a specific position within the programme’s architecture. The UK Nigeria Tech Hub is a named delivery partner, and Itana — Africa’s first digital free zone, positioned as an entry point for digital businesses scaling across the continent from a Nigerian base is one of the flagship Africa-side partners for the UK founder track. For Nigerian founders attending London Tech Week, the programme offers a rare combination of official government backing and on-the-ground concierge support.
A Corridor Taking Shape
The UK–Africa tech corridor has been gathering momentum over recent years, driven partly by the large African diaspora communities in London and partly by UK government efforts to deepen trade and investment ties with the continent. The formalisation of this programme during London Tech Week reflects a more deliberate effort to institutionalise that relationship moving beyond bilateral conversations toward something with consistent infrastructure behind it.
The programme is open to individual founders and full delegations. Founders already endorsed by DBT will be onboarded automatically.
