Johannesburg will be the center of African digital innovation from October 7 to 10, as it hosts the 10th edition of the Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival. The event promises to “ignite” the heart of the South African city with the flame of acclaimed African creative minds, brought together under the theme #PowerSurge.
“Power Surge is more than a theme; it’s a call to mobilization. We are here to reclaim our creative energy, design our own systems, and show the world what African digital brilliance looks like when powered from within,” says Alby Michaels, Festival Director.
Over the years, Fak’ugesi has become a catalyst for the continent’s digital renaissance – a meeting point where the next wave of African innovators, artists, and technologists come together to experiment, collaborate, and redefine what is possible.
From its home at the Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct at Wits University, the festival will transform Braamfontein into a vibrant circuit of ideas and actions, where ancestral intelligence meets artificial intelligence, climate justice drives sustainable futures, and immersive technologies illuminate the path toward bold new creative economies.
For this edition, a Mozambican delegation will be part of the journey, together with our Maputo Fast Forward (MFF) teams, as well as the beneficiaries of Cultiv’arte. For the year to come, MFF is partnering with Tshimologong to implement a socio-economic study funded by the French Cooperation, to build a sustainable model for a Creative Digital Hub in Mozambique.
Festival highlights include the Fak’ugesi Awards, which celebrate Africa’s digital rebels, disruptors, and dreamers in animation, gaming, XR, and design. The program also features international-level exhibitions, game and XR showcases, and a conference with African and international speakers.
Another standout activity is The Surge Experience, a three-stop immersive tour featuring our exclusive fulldome program at the Wits Anglo American Digital Dome, ancestral intelligence and the Original Creative Explosion at the Origins Centre, and Future Forward XR and VR experiences at the Tshimologong Precinct.
Written by: Eduardo Quive
