The Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Benguérir hosted the second edition of the DeepTech Summit on May 8 and 9, drawing together a diverse crowd of researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and students from around the globe. The event focused on emerging technologies and their potential to drive progress across Africa while contributing to global innovation trends.
With more than 5,500 participants representing 53 countries, the summit featured a strong international presence and a packed agenda of 66 themed sessions. These discussions spanned eleven major sectors, including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, climate tech, cybersecurity, and agritech. A total of 186 experts and speakers offered insights into the ongoing technological transformation sweeping across industries and continents.
This year’s summit placed artificial intelligence at its core, delving into its scientific, industrial, ethical, and geopolitical dimensions. AI was presented not only as a tool for disrupting sectors like healthcare, energy, and agriculture but also as a new frontier in global sovereignty—one that demands fresh governance models. In these conversations, Africa was positioned not as a passive observer but as an emerging force capable of shaping the trajectory of new global tech paradigms.
One of the key highlights was the debut of the DTS Prize, created to spotlight innovation that addresses Africa’s unique challenges. Over 300 startups applied, with a notable 25 percent founded by women. Eleven finalists were selected from a wide geographic spread, each bringing forward original, high-impact solutions.
Cure Bionics won top honors in the life sciences category for its advances in assistive healthcare technology, biotechnology, and genomics. In the green economy category, Sand to Green was recognized for its approach to regenerating barren soils. Meanwhile, Nyungu Afrika stood out for its eco-friendly and scalable solution to postpartum health, a topic often overlooked despite its wide-ranging implications across the continent.
Each of the winners received $50,000 in funding, access to UM6P’s cutting-edge research facilities, and direct links to investor networks and on-campus pilot programs. Sawari Ventures was also awarded a special mention for its critical role in financing Africa’s DeepTech ecosystem.
Beyond panels and keynotes, the summit offered immersive formats like “Pitch in the Dark” and the “DeepTech Factory,” giving 29 African startups the chance to pitch directly to global investors. Startups came from a range of sectors including health tech, agritech, data science, and green energy, reflecting the continent’s accelerating pace of innovation.
This year also introduced the Deepfake Challenge, hosted in partnership with telecom company INWI. Spearheaded by the UM6P College of Computing and the Stargate accelerator, the competition united engineers, researchers, students, and startups around one goal: developing AI-driven solutions to combat digital misinformation.
The summit also yielded several institutional agreements aimed at building long-term capacity. One such partnership, signed with H&S, will establish a presence on the Benguérir campus and launch joint programs in biotech, green chemistry, healthcare, and AI. The collaboration also covers technology transfer, talent development, startup support, and integrated real estate development.
Another key partnership was sealed with Attijariwafa Bank, focused on aligning university-affiliated startups with the bank’s strategic priorities. Co-development spaces will allow startups to test financial tech use-cases, with the bank’s innovation lab playing an active role in mentoring and project evaluation within the Stargate ecosystem.
Finally, the university announced a collaboration with Africorp Consortium to co-develop projects in industry, agriculture, mining, and education. The initiative aims to align Africorp’s continental strategy with the research capabilities of UM6P to drive large-scale, high-impact ventures.
Yassine Laghzioui, who leads entrepreneurship initiatives at UM6P, described the summit as a critical step in grounding innovation in real-world dynamics by linking it to talent, markets, and long-term investment. The event reinforced the university’s goal of building full value chains—from fundamental research to industrial deployment—while positioning Africa as a central player in the global innovation landscape.
