Sterling Bank, Aké Festival Put Africa at the Centre of AI Debate

Sterling Bank, Aké Festival Put Africa at the Centre of AI Debate

Lagos, Nigeria – Sterling Bank has renewed its partnership with the Aké Arts and Book Festival, one of Africa's foremost gatherings of writers, artists and thinkers, as the festival returns to Lagos from 19 to 21 November 2026 with a conversation about Africa’s place in an increasingly technology-driven world.

Now in its 14th edition, the festival will explore the theme ‘Native Intelligence’, examining the relationship between the knowledge Africans have developed and passed down for generations and the artificial intelligence systems increasingly influencing how people live, learn, work and communicate.

The theme stems from a simple fact: Africa was thinking long before machines were. The elder, the proverb and the folktale represent systems of knowledge refined over centuries. Today, artificial intelligence is changing how stories are told, how elections are fought and how truth is reported across the globe. Yet questions remain about how adequately African languages, experiences and cultural contexts are represented in the technologies increasingly shaping the world.

For Sterling Bank, which has supported the festival since 2018, the partnership represents a continued investment in the people and ideas shaping Africa’s cultural and intellectual future. Over the years, Aké has provided a meeting point for established and emerging writers, artists and thinkers, bringing together more than 1,000 creative voices and creating opportunities for African stories and perspectives to reach wider audiences.

Commenting on this year’s convening, Donatus Okpako, Chief Marketing Officer at Sterling Bank, stated, “Every society has an intelligence, the instinct and judgement employed to read a situation and solve a problem. Africans have always had it in abundance. As AI reshapes how we work, bank, vote and learn, the real concern is whether Africa's own ways of thinking help shape the technology it relies on. For fourteen years, Aké has placed African ideas at the centre of global conversations. That is a platform worth standing behind.”

‘Native Intelligence’ does not treat African knowledge as a relic to be kept behind glass. It treats it as a living intelligence with a claim on the future. Over three days, novelists, poets, journalists, technologists, filmmakers and scholars will examine who gets to decide what counts as knowledge. They will also ask the question at the heart of the festival: whose intelligence are we building the future on?

Lola Shoneyin, Founder and Director of the Aké Arts and Book Festival, said, “A machine knows only what it has been fed, and it has not been fed much of us. Native Intelligence is about power: who decides what is true, what is worth remembering, and whose voice the future speaks in? Sterling understands our goal to support and celebrate creativity on the African continent and beyond. We are delighted to work with them again.”

The festival programme includes book chats, panel discussions, film screenings, conversations and poetry performances and music. Registration is open at akefestival.org.

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About Sterling Bank

Sterling Bank Limited is a full-service national commercial bank in Nigeria and a member of Sterling Financial Holdings Group. With a heritage of more than 60 years, the bank has evolved from Nigeria’s pre-eminent investment banking institution to a trusted provider of retail, commercial, and corporate banking services.

Sterling is a forward-thinking financial institution committed to transforming lives through innovative solutions, exceptional service, unwavering integrity, and a steadfast focus on its HEART strategy, which centers on Health, Education, Agriculture, Renewable Energy, and Transportation. As pioneers in digital banking and financial inclusion, Sterling continues to lead by example, showing how purpose-driven leadership can deliver transformative outcomes for individuals, businesses, and society at large.

Guided by a culture of innovation and a passion for excellence, Sterling Bank remains dedicated to redefining the banking experience for millions of customers across Nigeria.

About Aké Arts and Book Festival

Founded by Lola Shoneyin in 2013, the Aké Arts and Book Festival is one of Africa's most influential cultural gatherings. Now held in Lagos and organised by Book Buzz Foundation, it brings together writers, poets, musicians, filmmakers, artists and thinkers from across the continent and its diaspora. Since its founding, the festival has hosted more than 1,000 creatives.