This year, Africa Industrialization Week (AIW 2025) will be held in Kampala, Uganda, from 17–21 November 2025, under the theme “Transforming Africa’s Economy through Sustainable Industrialization, Regional Integration and Innovation.” The theme underscores the centrality of sustainable industrialization, regional integration, and innovation in advancing Africa’s structural transformation agenda.

The Week aims to strengthen policy coherence, mobilize investment, and enhance infrastructure to accelerate industrial growth and value addition. It will also promote intra-African trade, foster youth and women entrepreneurship, and showcase innovative, homegrown solutions that are driving Africa’s economic development in line with Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.

Held on the margins of AIW, the 4th Edition of the African Women in Processing Forum (AWIP) and the 1st African Youth Start-ups Forum will provide dedicated platforms to empower women-led enterprises and youth innovators, strengthen value chain participation, and catalyse partnerships and investment opportunities across the continent.

Objectives

• To promote sustainable industrialization amongst the AU Member States for adoption by identifying and showcasing policy models and best practices that can be replicated across Africa.
• To foster regional integration by strengthening inter AU member state and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) coordination on industrial development.
• To provide a platform for the African Youth Startups and Women led enterprises for networking and access to investment opportunities.
• To encourage the development of industrial infrastructure through policy discussion and agreement on strategies that support industrial growth and regional integration.
• To enhance policy recommendations and continental regulatory industrial policy frameworks such as AIDA and IDDA III, and guidelines for promoting sustainable industrialization, regional integration, and innovation in Africa.

The African Women in Processing (AWIP) Forum is the African Union’s premier continental platform for advancing women’s participation in industrialization and trade. It serves as a space for policy dialogue, knowledge exchange, innovation showcasing, and strengthening cross-border value chain linkages, while enhancing access to finance, markets, and investment opportunities for women entrepreneurs.

Since its inception, the Forum has been successfully convened in Niamey (2022), Cairo (2023), and Addis Ababa (2024) each edition amplifying the visibility of women entrepreneurs and fostering connections with governments, investors, financial institutions, and development partners to scale up women-led enterprises.

The 4th Edition of the AWIP Forum, to be held under the theme “Accelerating the Development of Women-Led Industrial Parks for an Inclusive Transformation under the AfCFTA,” will build on these achievements by focusing on the establishment of women-led industrial parks and clusters as engines of value addition, job creation, competitiveness, and inclusive industrial transformation in line with the aspirations of Agenda 2063 and the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The Africa Youth Start-Ups Forum (AYSF 2025) is a flagship event within Africa Industrialization Week that empowers young innovators driving Africa’s industrial transformation. The theme of this first edition is “Igniting Youth Innovation: AI, Fintech, and Product Development for Africa’s Industrial Transformation” It focuses on AI, fintech, and product development, providing a platform for youth-led start-ups to access finance, markets, and mentorship. The forum promotes policy dialogue, encourages collaboration with investors and governments, and strengthens youth capacity in technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship across the continent.

The Forum will address the following key thematic areas:

• Women-Led Industrial Parks and Clusters: Design, development, and operationalization as transformative engines.
• Policy and Regulatory Frameworks: Gender-responsive industrial policies and investment frameworks.
• Access to Finance and Markets: Leveraging DFIs, commercial banks, venture capital, and public-private partnerships.
• Skills Development and Capacity Building: Certification, quality standards, digital tools, and ESG compliance.
• Innovation and Digitalization: Use of technology to enhance production, competitiveness, and market access.
• Exhibitions and Showcasing Innovations: Highlighting women-led products and integrated value chains.
• scalable youth-led industrial innovations across Africa, enhanced access to finance and partnerships, policy recommendations to strengthen youth participation in the continent’s industrial agenda, improved youth capacity in technology adoption and product development, and the establishment of an Africa Youth Start-up Network aligned with AIW and AU industrialization initiatives.

The 2025 African Industrialization Week will aim to deliver the following key outcomes

• Replicable sustainable industrialization policy models and best practices are identified and showcased for African Union member states. Strengthened Inter AU member state and REC coordination on industrialization.
• Intra-African trade and investment in industrial sectors are increased especially among women and the youth.
• Industrial policy strategies for industrial infrastructure development identified to support industrial growth and regional integration.
• Actionable policy recommendations and guidelines for promoting sustainable industrialization, regional integration, and promoting innovations in Africa identified. Strengthened continental policy dialogue on sustainable industrialization, regional integration, and innovation.
• Showcasing of successful industrial models, youth start-ups, and women-led innovations. Built a scalable youth-led industrial innovations across Africa.
• Increased access to finance and partnerships for youth start-ups.
• Concrete policy recommendations to strengthen youth participation in Africa’s industrial agenda.
• Establishment of an Africa Youth Startup Network linked to AIW and AU industrialization initiatives.