Remarks by Sally Wentworth for the Opening Ceremony of the Africa Internet Summit 2025, delivered live via Zoom to the event in Ghana.
Hello! I am Sally Wentworth, President and CEO of the Internet Society and the Internet Society Foundation, and it is my great honor to address you today at the opening of the Africa Internet Summit.
Thank you to all the organizers and sponsors who have made this gathering possible. I would particularly like to thank Professor Nii Quaynor and Nancy Dotse for all of their leadership in creating the space for members of Africa’s technical community to come together at this premier event for the ICT industry in Africa.
I also offer my congratulations to the newly elected board members of AFRINIC. Please know that you have our continued support as you develop the next steps for the organization. The Internet Society has been supportive of AFRINIC from its inception back in 2005 to today. We and our many chapters across Africa will continue to support AFRINIC and will work with all stakeholders to rebuild a strong community-based AFRINIC that can serve the region for decades to come.
I wish I could be there with you in person, but I’m delighted to share this message with innovators, builders, and champions of the Internet across Africa. You represent a community that has achieved something remarkable—you have fundamentally transformed how Africa connects to the world – and to itself.
A Story of Transformation
Let me take you back seventeen years. In 2007, if someone in Lagos wanted to send an email to someone in Accra—a distance of just under five hundred kilometers—that email would travel thousands of kilometers to Europe or North America before returning to West Africa. African Internet traffic was taking a detour around the world to reach its neighbors. This was expensive, unreliable, and frankly, unacceptable.
The technical community recognized this as one of the major barriers to Africa’s digital development. But we also recognized something else—that the solution would not come from outside Africa. It would come from you, the technical community.
Working together with local leaders and organizations, we launched the African Peering and Interconnection Forum—AFPIF—in 2010. The goal was simple: create a space where all stakeholders could come together to solve this fundamental connectivity challenge.
Fifteen years later, look what you have accomplished! AFPIF has become a major forum that brings together hundreds of network operators, policymakers, and technical experts. More importantly, it has enabled the establishment of a strong, organized community under AfIX that has taken complete ownership of this forum. The Internet Society will remain a strong supporter of AFPIF but we are pleased that the regional technical community is taking over the important role of managing the AfPIF event directly and taking it to new levels of excellence.
This community-led transformation has changed Africa’s Internet landscape. Today, much more African traffic stays in Africa. Internet exchange points have multiplied across the continent. Connectivity is more affordable, more reliable, and more resilient.
This success happened because the technical community—all of you—worked together to solve a challenge. You proved that when Africa’s technical minds collaborate, remarkable things happen. And you’ve done this time and time again.
Honoring Our Champions
Today, I want to honor three of those technical champions who have been fundamental to this transformation.
First, Tarek Kamel, who was just inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame this month. Tarek’s vision and leadership in telecommunications and Internet policy across Africa and the Middle East helped lay the foundation for the connected continent we see today. For my own organization, Tarek was one of our early members of the Internet Society Board and was also the founding chair of our Internet Society Egypt chapter.
Second, Pierre Ouédraogo, winner of the 2012 Jonathan B. Postel Service Award, who we lost in July 2024. Pierre was a technical leader who dedicated his life to advancing Internet development across Africa. His work with AFRINIC and countless other organizations helped build the technical infrastructure that connects us today. Pierre understood that the Internet’s power lies in its ability to bring people together—and he spent his career making that vision a reality across Africa.
And third, Dr. Boubakar Barry, former CEO of the West and Central African Research and Education Network, who passed away in September 2024. Boubakar was instrumental in advancing research and education networking across West and Central Africa. His legacy lives on in the connections that enable universities, researchers, and students across the region to collaborate and innovate.
These three leaders exemplify the spirit that has driven Africa’s Internet development—visionary, collaborative, and deeply committed to ensuring that the Internet serves everyone.
The Internet Society’s Commitment to Africa
The Internet Society has been proud to support Africa’s Internet development for over two decades. Since 2019 alone, we have invested in projects across more than 30 African countries. We have helped establish community networks in rural areas, supported the creation of Internet exchange points, trained thousands of technical professionals, and funded initiatives that have connected millions of people.
Through the Internet Society Foundation, we have granted over 550 awards totaling almost $17 million across African countries since 2020. From supporting women in tech initiatives in Kenya to funding rural connectivity projects in Senegal, from cybersecurity training programs in Nigeria to digital skills development in Ghana—our work spans the continent.
But here’s what I want you to understand: every dollar we’ve invested, every project we’ve supported, every person we’ve trained has been successful because of you—the African technical community. You are the ones who took these resources and turned them into real change. You are the ones who built the networks, trained the next generation, and solved the problems. It has always been our vision that local technical communities are the key to Internet growth, innovation and sustainability. This is what the Africa Internet Summit represents.
A Call to Rebuilding
I know that the past few years have been challenging for Africa’s technical community. Many of you have faced difficulties that have tested your resolve and strained your collaborative spirit. Some may be feeling discouraged or wondering whether the community that achieved so much can be rebuilt. But the lessons learned from the last few years can help you build an even stronger and more resilient technical community.
The technical community that transformed Africa’s Internet connectivity seventeen years ago is gathering at this Summit today – some of you have been a part of this community for a very long time, and some of you represent a new generation that will carry this vision forward. The same innovative spirit that built AFPIF and countless other initiatives lives on in each of you who are participating. The same collaborative approach that solved the peering challenges can solve the challenges you face today.
Look at what you have accomplished together:
- You have increased Internet penetration across Africa from less than 10% in 2010 to over 38% today
- You have established more than 70 Internet exchange points across the continent
- You have built a thriving ecosystem of technical organizations, training programs, and collaborative initiatives
- You have produced world-class technical leaders who are recognized globally for their contributions
This is your legacy. This is also the foundation of Africa’s digital future. And this is what you can build upon.
Africa’s 1.5 billion people deserve the full benefits of Internet connectivity. The continent’s young, dynamic population is poised to drive the next wave of global digital innovation—but only if the technical infrastructure and community support continue to grow.
Your Opportunity
This Africa Internet Summit represents more than just another technical conference. It represents an opportunity to rebuild, reconnect, and recommit to the collaborative spirit that has driven Africa’s Internet development.
I encourage you to use this week to:
- Reconnect with colleagues you may have lost touch with
- Share your expertise with the next generation of technical leaders
- Identify new opportunities for collaboration
- Commit to supporting community-driven initiatives
- Remember why you fell in love with building the Internet in the first place
The technical community that successfully transformed Africa’s Internet peering landscape can overcome any challenge. The innovators who built thriving Internet exchange points can build thriving collaborative relationships. The leaders who connected a continent can reconnect a community.
The Internet Is for Everyone
Our vision at the Internet Society remains unchanged: the Internet is for everyone. In Africa, this vision is becoming a reality through your work. But there is still much to do. There are still communities to connect, skills to develop, and innovations to unleash.
The world needs a strong, united African technical community. The Internet needs your continued leadership. And Africa’s 1.5 billion people need you to work together to ensure that the digital future includes everyone.
You have done it before. The success of the African Internet Summit, the transformation of Africa’s Internet landscape, the countless lives changed through connectivity—this is your proof that when Africa’s technical community works together, extraordinary things happen.
Now it’s time to do it again.
Thank you for your past achievements, your current dedication, and your future commitment to ensuring that the Internet truly is for everyone in Africa and beyond.
Let’s rebuild together. Let’s innovate together. Let’s ensure that Africa’s next chapter in Internet development is even more remarkable than the last.
Thank you.