Arriving at BIGTECH AFRICA, held in Tunis from 9-11 September 2025, I expected dialogue, debate, and discovery. I did not expect an award. This opening piece frames the series, explaining why I am telling these stories and why Tunisia has become the stage for Africa’s AI and tech future.
Tunisia stands at the crossroads of Africa, the Arab world, and Europe – a small nation with an outsized influence on the continent’s digital transformation.
Over the past decade, it has quietly built one of the most dynamic startup ecosystems in Africa. The landmark Startup Act of 2018 positioned Tunisia as a continental pioneer by providing founders with legal recognition, tax incentives, and global mobility. Its universities produce thousands of engineers every year, many of whom are trained in AI, data science, and software development. A new generation of returnees – founders, investors, and policymakers – are turning Tunisia into a testbed for inclusive innovation, linking the Mediterranean and the Maghreb to sub-Saharan Africa.
From Our Digital Future (ODF) and Flat6Labs to the Tunisian AI Society, this ecosystem is driven by collaboration, experimentation, and the belief that Africa’s technological leap will come from within. That is why BIGTECH AFRICA found its home here – not just as an event, but as a declaration that Tunisia is ready to lead Africa’s next digital revolution.
My First Tunis
The last time I was in Tunis was in October 1992 for the Carthage Film Festival and the screening of my husband, Julian Henriques’ film – We The Ragamuffin, a reggae musical set in the Peckham Estate, London. The festival was led by Ahmed Baha Eddine Attia, an accomplished director and producer with whom I shared a passion for Third Cinema.
Earlier in my career, in 1983, I had programmed Third Eye: London’s Festival of Third World Cinema, showcasing films from Africa, Asia and Latin America. I invited the Tunisian director, Ferid Boughedir, to screen his landmark film Caméra d’Afrique (1983), which chronicled twenty years of African cinema. So, being in Tunis a decade later, immersed in a pan-Arab and pan-African film culture that challenged the dominance of Global North films, was profoundly moving. I was six months pregnant with our second daughter. It was an era without mobile phones or email, only landlines and fax machines, yet the Carthage Film Festival was vibrant, with films of extraordinary depth and urgency. I remember visiting the Medina, reflecting on how different it felt from the Casbah in Algiers, where earlier that year I had spent two months filming my documentary film Algeria: Women At War for Channel Four.
Returning Three Decades Later
In September 2025, over three decades later, I was thrilled to return to Tunis – this time not for cinema, but for technology – thanks to Sidi Saccoh, who recommended me to the organisers. My first meeting with the team behind BIGTECH AFRICA was over Zoom, with Skandar Haddar, the CEO of TPM Events, and the founder of BIGTECH AFRICA, creator of Riyeda, Tunisia’s national entrepreneurship forum, and the Tunisia Digital Summit (TDS), which contributes to advancing the country’s digital transition. We were joined by Sami Ayari, Co-Founder of the Tunisian AI Society, to discuss my participation in BIGTECH AFRICA.
Storytelling 5.0
They invited me to deliver a keynote titled Storytelling 5.0 – Beyond the Frame: Storytelling for Impact in the Age of AI and Social Media. The theme resonated deeply with my lifelong commitment to storytelling as a transformative force – in film, television, digital platforms and entrepreneurship. It was an excellent opportunity to explore the intersections of storytelling, technology, and social change, and to share insights drawn from my journey across these worlds.
In this Stories from BIGTECH AFRICA 25 series, I will share my reflections from the event, highlighting inspiring sessions, visionary speakers, and the innovators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers shaping Africa’s digital future. These are the conversations that have stayed with me, and the people who remind us that Africa’s digital transformation is not a dream deferred, but a reality already in motion.
Africa’s Digital Future
BIGTECH AFRICA 25 delivered a packed agenda exploring AI inclusion, sustainability, and investment. With over 100 speakers from across the continent and beyond, it was more than a tech show – it was a bold statement about Africa’s digital destiny. The event posed an urgent question: Who owns Africa’s digital future? How do we shape tech to serve our people, not just profit?
We all agreed that Africa must not remain a consumer of technology. Its entrepreneurs are creators, leaders, and innovators. Over the five days, I had the privilege of meeting Tunisian founders and witnessing their brilliance, resilience, and determination to drive transformation in their sectors, their country and across the continent.
Stories from BIGTECH AFRICA 25 is my way of saying a heartfelt thank you to Skandar Haddar and Sami Ayari for the opportunity to learn, contribute, and connect with the next generation of changemakers.
Thank you, BIGTECH AFRICA 25, for honouring me with a beautiful award, a heartfelt tribute video produced by Sami Ayari, and a handcrafted sculpture by Tunisian artist Zabarjed Bousdira, embodying the union of art, technology, and human inspiration. Above all, thank you for your vision in positioning Tunisia and Africa as global innovation hubs where creativity and technology converge.
Building the Next Bridge
The story continues as I serve as Ambassador for BIGTECH Africa 2026 India–Africa Tech & Startup Bridge.
Over the coming year, I will be working with entrepreneurs, investors, universities, technology leaders, and innovation ecosystems across both regions to explore how stronger connections between India and Africa can unlock new opportunities for growth, innovation, and shared prosperity.
That journey begins with a simple belief: the future will not be built by any one country or continent acting alone. It will be shaped through collaboration, co-creation, and the bridges we choose to build together.
Looking back, I realise that the conversations I began in Tunis in September 2025 were not simply about technology. They were about possibility: the possibility of new partnerships, new ideas, and new bridges between people, countries, and continents.
I hope you will join me on the journey.
Parminder Vir OBE
Ambassador, India-Africa Tech & Startup Bridge: BIGTECH Africa 2026
Entrepreneurship Expert, Oxford Saïd Entrepreneurship Centre
Former CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation
