Lesotho: Insights from the 2025 African Union innovation festival

The article reports on insights shared by Mamashiya Nts’epeng Ts’ita Tikiso following her participation in the 2025 African Union Innovation Festival held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The festival highlighted the African Union’s commitment to innovation as a driver of Agenda 2063, showcasing continental strategies and initiatives focused on digital transformation, youth empowerment, and inclusive development.

Tikiso reflects on her role mentoring young innovators through programmes such as the AU Digital and Innovation Fellowship and the AU Go Gal! Initiative. She describes innovations developed by young Africans that address digital governance, health systems, youth engagement, and women-led enterprise, and explains how these solutions could be adapted to Lesotho’s context to strengthen entrepreneurship, public sector efficiency, and access to information.

The article also discusses opportunities for advancing women and youth in digital and financial inclusion through improved access, skills development, mobile financial tools, and visibility of role models. It situates these reflections within a broader African innovation ecosystem, highlighting organisations and initiatives working to ensure that innovation contributes to inclusive economic growth in Lesotho and across the continent.

LINK TO PUBLISHED STORY: https://informativenews.co.ls/2025/10/29/insights-from-the-2025-african-union-innovation-festival-mrs-tikiso/

This article, first published by Informative Newspaper, is part of the Media Parity Capacity Building and republished as part of the programme series.