Three-day gathering serves as a strategic platform for major partnership announcements, including Africa’s first AI-driven Operator-as-a-Service platform
When 500 top investors, family offices, and decision-makers gathered in Cape Town last week for Counder Conference 2026, the three-day gathering became the stage for major partnership announcements — including one that signals a turning point for Africa’s digital infrastructure.
During Context Day on 28 January, AXON Networks (US) and Cassava Technologies (UK) revealed a strategic collaboration to deliver Africa’s first end-to-end AI-driven Operator-as-a-Service platform, choosing Counder Conference as the platform to unveil their partnership before 500 global investors and strategic partners who could help bring it to scale.
The choice of venue was strategic: Counder Conference brings together precisely the room needed for major infrastructure plays: family office principals, venture capital partners, operators, and decision-makers from more than 30 countries.
The Conference: 18 knowledge partners, 500 visionary leaders
Counder Conference 2026 was designed around a simple premise: that the leaders shaping tomorrow’s biggest opportunities need trusted spaces to compare notes, test assumptions, and form the relationships that turn insight into action.
The three-day gathering brought together an invite-only group of 500 visionary leaders — family office principals, venture capital partners, CEOs building at scale, and decision-makers from more than 30 countries — alongside 18 world-class knowledge partners, including OpenAI, Investec, The Stack Group, Ringier, Cassava Technologies, and AXON Networks.
Operating under Chatham House Rule for its breakout sessions, the conference’s 18 topical discussions created space for honest, unfiltered dialogue on the trends and regions defining the next decade: artificial intelligence deployment at scale, Africa’s tech ecosystem maturing from start-ups into institutions, digital infrastructure as the backbone of economic growth, crypto’s evolution from speculation to stablecoins, sports as a serious global asset class, commercial space exploration and satellite infrastructure, and more.
Among those in attendance were Dr Christo Wiese (Former Chairman of Shoprite and Pepkor), Hardy Pemhiwa (President & CEO, Cassava Technologies), Neville Isdell (former Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company), Martin Manniche (Managing Director, AXON Networks), Sudeep Ramnani (Founder, PalmPay & 885 Capital), and hundreds of other leaders actively deploying capital, building companies, and shaping markets across continents.
Three days, three stages, one thread
The conference unfolded across three carefully chosen Cape Town venues, each serving a distinct purpose.
Day 1, at the German Residence in Bishopscourt, opened with a relaxed reception where the room formed without the rush of keynotes or panels. Participants met, mapped out their paths through the days ahead, and began the conversations that would deepen over the week.
Day 2 — Context Day at the Norval Foundation in Tokai was the intellectual and strategic core. Morning-to-evening breakout sessions, working lunches, and exchanges designed around substance, not show. Knowledge Partners set the framing, guided the discussions, and ensured each session delivered actionable insights.
It was here, on Context Day, that AXON Networks and Cassava Technologies chose to reveal their infrastructure collaboration, recognising that the room contained precisely the investors, operators, and strategic partners who could help bring the vision to scale.
The partnership targets a major opportunity: transforming Africa’s extensive fibre footprint into a real-time, intelligent digital platform capable of unlocking faster innovation, lower operational complexity, and new opportunities for sustainable growth. By combining AXON’s software-driven networking platform with Cassava’s pan-African infrastructure and data centre footprint, the collaboration aims to deliver Operator-as-a-Service at a continental scale.
“We’re excited to see partnerships like AXON and Cassava choose Counder Conference as the platform to share this announcement first,” said Michel Weiss, CEO and Founding Partner, and Leonard Stiegeler, Chairman and Founding Partner of Counder. “Our aim has always been to bring together people doing exceptional work across industries and regions — investors backing the next wave of infrastructure, operators building at scale, strategic partners with the expertise to help visions become reality. When they choose to share these moments with each other before anyone else, it’s exactly what we hoped to create: a room where collaboration starts before the headlines do.”
For the investors and operators in the room, the announcement was more than a press release. It was a signal of where capital and infrastructure are converging — and an invitation to participate in building the next layer of Africa’s digital economy.
Day 3 — Connect Day — shifted to shared experiences across Cape Town. Curated excursions, including the Counder Golf Invitational, Padel Tournament, Morning Hikes, Yacht Tour, Wine Tasting & Studio Tours, and Family Brunches hosted by Counder members,s allowed conversations to continue in smaller settings where next steps could be agreed naturally. The day concluded with a Gala Dinner at the Cape Town World Cup Stadium, bringing the full group back together to solidify relationships formed over the previous 48 hours.
Cape Town’s strategic moment
The choice of Cape Town as the host city reflected a broader strategic opportunity. As South Africa’s G20 presidency concluded at the end of 2025, Counder Conference 2026 sustained the momentum, demonstrating that Cape Town is a natural stage for the private sector conversations shaping global capital flows.
For announcements like the AXON-Cassava partnership, the location offered proximity to the markets being served, access to the investors and operators who can deploy capital and expertise, and a city increasingly recognised as a hub where African innovation meets international scale.
The good news: for leaders and organisations interested in being part of Counder’s innovation-forward network, requests for invitations & partnerships for the 2026/2027 season and 2027 Conference are now officially open.
About Counder
Counder is a global network connecting visionary leaders to collaborate on tomorrow’s most important opportunities. Through its Conference, Calendar, Connect, and Context pillars, Counder creates trusted environments for high-calibre decision-makers to explore emerging trends, forge strategic partnerships, and drive meaningful collaboration across industries and continents. Representing 30+ nationalities, Counder facilitates over 5,000 trusted connections annually through its invite-only network.
For more information, visit www.counder.com
