Afretec Network Convenes at Wits University
More than 120 higher education leaders, scholars and students gathered at Wits University for the Afretec annual conference.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Scholarships
The Afretec network held its annual conference at Wits University in Johannesburg from 25 to 29 October 2026. More than 120 attendees from 10 African educational institutions took part in the five-day programme.
Why it matters
Afretec meets annually to strengthen cross-country and cross-institutional collaboration among technology-focused universities across Africa. The conference is the first hosted by Wits, and the network is founded and led by Carnegie Mellon University Africa in Rwanda.
The Afretec network comprises 10 member universities, and the conference drew more than 120 higher education leaders, scholars and students from 10 institutions across Africa. The extraction does not report specific outcomes or funding commitments made at the event.
The players
Afretec
A pan-African collaboration of technology-focused universities that meets annually to strengthen cross-institutional ties across the continent.
Carnegie Mellon University Africa
The Rwanda-based campus of Carnegie Mellon University that founds and leads the Afretec network.
Pamela Agar
The chair of the conference panel on building fundraising capacity.
The Mastercard Foundation
The foundation that provides core funding and large-scale investment to the Afretec network.
The details
The five-day conference covered themes including a panel on building fundraising capacity, chaired by Pamela Agar. Wits also highlighted its flexible-admissions Data Science Diploma, which produced a majority female bursary cohort without any gender-based criterion.
Timeline
25 to 29 October 2026: Afretec annual conference held at Wits University
2 November 2026: Wits published its report on the conference
Scholarship Landscape
The Mastercard Foundation's core funding has underpinned the Afretec network, and this annual conference extends that investment into collaboration among its ten member universities. The extraction does not indicate how the funding is allocated across the network's scholarship programmes.
Students interested in technology programmes at African universities can look into flexible-admissions routes and bursary opportunities such as the Data Science Diploma at Wits. Prospective applicants should check each member institution's admissions criteria directly, as the extraction does not provide application deadlines.
The takeaway
Cross-institutional networks like Afretec show how shared funding and annual collaboration can widen access to technology education across a continent. Students weighing university options should compare flexible-admissions programmes and bursary availability rather than relying on any single pathway.
Further reading
Explore more on Scholarships to see how university networks like Afretec support student funding across Africa.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Wits.
