Zanzibar Wednesday 19 August 2026, Zanzibar will host Data Tamasha Africa 2026, bringing together more than 300 delegates, 100+ organisations, and participants from 30 countries at Hotel Verde.
A three day Data Tamasha Africa 2026 has today kicked off in Zanzibar where more than 300 delegates, 100+ organisations, and participants from 30 countries are participating.
Co-hosted by the Tanzania Data Lab (dLab) and Pollicy Uganda, in close coordination with the Zanzibar Ministry of Communication, Information Technology and Innovation, it will showcase how African institutions, innovators and communities are moving beyond conversations about digital transformation to building practical solutions with data, digital technologies and artificial intelligence.
Speaking while opening the Data Tamasha Africa 2026, The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and Innovation in Zanzibar Mudrik Ramadhan Soraga it feels honored for Zanzibar to host such an event.
‘For Zanzibar, hosting Data Tamasha Africa 2026 reinforces its growing role as a regional hub for digital innovation, data-driven development and digital governance. Zanzibar is fully ready to host this incredibly important event. Hosting this forum will enhance Zanzibar’s international profile as a destination for digital innovation while attracting vital investments in ICT, education, business, and public services. We want to see data and technology being used as tools to boost productivity, accountability, and sustainable development’. Said Soraga.
Under the theme “Kujenga na Data / Building with Data,” participants will share homegrown AI solutions, community-driven data systems, digital public innovations and practical approaches designed around Africa’s own priorities and realities.
Tanzania Data Lab Executive Director Dr. Mahadia Tunga said that in today’s world, making informed decisions is critical, especially for countries with constrained resources, and at the same time called Zanzibar citizens to proudly attend at the event. “Data helps identify development priorities and ensures that our limited resources are being used effectively across the continent. Data Tamasha Africa serves as a premier platform to meet, learn from those who have succeeded, and openly discuss our shared challenges because no success comes without obstacles” Dr. Mahadia.
Speaking at the same event, Neema lyer Executive Director Pollicy said that big ideas need talented people to encounter one another. Not to meet on a screen, not to meet through a report, but to meet in person, in a room, where we can see each other’s faces and hear each other’s stories. A continent can be filling to the brim with the most talented people, but whose ideas remain just ideas if they remain isolated.
She added, ‘We are also here because we need joy. Sometimes, this work can feel heavy. We deal with online violence, with algorithmic harm, with policies that move too slowly and platforms that move too fast. If we let that weight sit on us without relief, we burn out, and burnt out people cannot build the future we want. We mustn’t think of joy as a distraction. Joy is fuel for big and bold ideas. So this week, I hope you dance a little, laugh a lot, eat well, and remember why we fell in love with this field in the first place’.
The event brings together data scientists, policymakers, researchers, innovators, development partners, private-sector leaders, civil society organisations, young people and creatives creating a unique space for collaboration, learning and action.
