About this Event
The IndabaX Kenya AI Summit 2026 takes place from 21st to 23rd July 2026 at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) Headquarters, off Raila Odinga Way in Nairobi, under the theme "AI in Health".
Delivered in hybrid mode (physical and online) together with KEMRI, Google, the Deep Learning Indaba, and Zindi, the summit brings three days of keynotes, panel discussions, hands-on workshops, and networking exploring how artificial intelligence can transform healthcare in Kenya and across Africa.
Applications closed on 1st July 2026 with a record 626 attendee applications and 57 speaker applications. For more information contact Dr. Elizabeth Mutua (elizabeth.ndunge@dkut.ac.ke) or Dr. Joseph Mwangi (JMwangi@kemri.go.ke).
Event Details
Date
21–23 July 2026
Location
Nairobi, Kenya
Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) Headquarters
Registration Deadline
1 July 2026
Programme
Hybrid event — physical at KEMRI Headquarters, Nairobi, and online.
Day 1 — Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Foundations of AI in Health & Emerging Innovations
- 1:00 – 2:00 PM Arrivals & Registration — Opening Webinar: Supercomputing: Sustainability and Applications in HPC and AI Dr. Feki Saber
- 2:00 – 3:00 PM Welcome to IndabaX AI Summit 2026 & Hackathon Announcement Elizabeth Mutua, Antony Ndolo, Joseph Mwangi
- 3:00 – 3:30 PM Opening Ceremony & Guest of Honor Address Prof. Elijah Songok — Vice Chancellor & CEO, KEMRI
- 3:30 – 4:00 PM Keynote 1: AI Ecosystem for Health in Kenya — Getting Ready for Massive AI Disruption in Healthcare in the Next Half Decade Prof. Jimmy Macharia — United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa)
- 4:00 – 4:30 PM Plenary 1: Predicting Cholera Before It Strikes: An AI-Driven Early Warning System for Kenya's 47 Counties Grace Nzambali Kitonyi — African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), Rwanda
- 4:30 – 5:00 PM Networking & Coffee Break
Day 2 — Wednesday, 22 July 2026
Applications, Tutorials & Research
- 8:00 – 8:30 AM Registrations
- 8:30 – 9:00 AM Warm Morning Discussion & Opening Session
- 9:00 – 10:00 AM Keynote 2: Reimagining the Future of Healthcare through Artificial Intelligence: Roadmap to Clinical Intelligence Dr. Rufus Gikera — Chair of Data Science & Artificial Intelligence, KCA University
- 10:00 – 10:30 AM Group Photo
- 10:30 – 11:00 AM Coffee Break
- 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Panel Discussion: Responsible AI and Ethics Moderator: Caroline Githinji · Panelists: James Mathiu (Kihingu Limited), Alamin Musa Magaga (YandyTech Community), Dr. Mercy Mwikali Muange (Enver Digital Consulting), Bob Philip Aila (One Acre Fund / AIMS Rwanda)
- 12:30 – 1:00 PM Plenary 2: Scaling AI Innovations in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities Dr. Elizabeth Mutua — Dedan Kimathi University of Technology
- 1:00 – 1:30 PM Plenary 3: OncoTwin: Using Digital Twins and AI to Reimagine Cancer Treatment Robert Karienye — Advatech Group
- 1:30 – 2:30 PM Lunch Break
- 2:30 – 4:30 PM Africa Research AI Presentations
- 4:30 – 5:00 PM Networking & Coffee Break
Day 3 — Thursday, 23 July 2026
Equity, Ethics & Closing
- 8:30 – 9:30 AM Keynote 3: AI for Equitable Health Systems in Africa Safari Agure — Senior Research Officer, KEMRI
- 9:35 – 10:30 AM Plenary 4: Youth Transition Intelligence Dr. Caroline Mose
- 10:30 – 11:30 AM Community Session (Breakout): Whose Data Counts? Open & Citizen Science for Health Policy Dr. Japheth Mursi — Deputy Director, Research and Innovation, Daystar University & Dr. Lydiah Radoli — Daystar University
- 10:30 – 11:30 AM Breakout 1 — Maternal Health: AI That Listens: Human-Centered AI for Deaf Maternal Health in Kenya Njeri Ngaruiya — Strathmore University
- 10:30 – 11:30 AM Breakout 2 — Maternal Health: Contactless Neonatal Monitoring Using Wi-Fi Channel State Information and Deep Learning for Low-Resource Settings in Sub-Saharan Africa Martin Koome — Carnegie Mellon University Africa
- 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM Coffee Break
- 12:00 – 12:30 PM Plenary 5: Mental Health in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Melvin Mureithi — Kenya Counselling and Psychological Association
- 12:30 – 1:00 PM Plenary 6: Whose Biology Counts? Distributional Shift and Undetected Risk in African Health AI Joy Manyasa Kabaka — Africa Bioethics Network (Genomics & Biotechnology Working Group)
- 1:00 – 2:00 PM Lunch Break
- 2:00 – 4:00 PM Closing Ceremony Dr. Samoel Ashimosi Khamadi — Director, Centre for Virus Research; Molecular Biologist & Infectious Disease Expert
- 4:00 – 5:00 PM Networking & Coffee Break
IndabaX Kenya 2026 — Conference Photos
