A leading scientific platform.
The summit hosts a full day of academic, operational and innovative presentations across six thematic tracks. Researchers, startups, students, developers, operators and institutions are invited to submit an oral presentation or a poster.
~30
Oral presentations selected
~50
Scientific posters displayed
6
Thematic tracks + transversal AI
6
Awards (1 per track)
Choose the format that best serves your message.
You can state a preference (oral or poster) or let the scientific committee decide. All formats lead to publication in the summit's proceedings booklet and visibility on the ALMS website.
Oral presentation
12 minutes
Day 2 · afternoon · 4 parallel rooms
For whom? Academic research, programme reports, large-scale operational case studies.
Technical specifications
- Duration12 min presentation + 3 min Q&A
- FormatSlide deck (PDF or Keynote/PowerPoint)
- Slides12 to 20 slides recommended · 16:9 ratio
- LanguageFrench or English
- Room120-180 seats · simultaneous FR↔EN interpretation
Guidelines to follow
- A title slide with title, track, authors, affiliations and institutional logos.
- Recommended outline: Context → Objective → Method → Results → Discussion → Conclusion.
- Strict timing: a chair stops the presentation at 12 minutes.
- Slides to be sent 7 days before the summit (ALMS template provided upon acceptance).
- Physical attendance of the presenter is required (videoconference only by exception).
Scientific poster
Permanent display Day 1 — Day 3
Author session Day 2 · 5:00 PM — 6:00 PM
For whom? Ongoing studies, pilot projects, early evaluations, technical demonstrations, student presentations.
Technical specifications
- Paper sizeA0 portrait (841 × 1189 mm)
- Reading distanceReadable at 1.5 m (title 80-100 pt, body 24-28 pt)
- SectionsTitle · Authors · Context · Method · Results · Conclusion · References · QR code
- PrintingOn you OR ALMS on-site service (€50 · book by D-30)
- Author session1 hour standing by your poster to engage with visitors
Guidelines to follow
- A single A0 page — no multi-sheet posters.
- Clear visual hierarchy: dominant title, numbered sections, charts preferred over text.
- Institutional logos in the footer, simple palette consistent with your identity.
- Include a QR code linking to a digital version (full paper, dataset, video).
- Mandatory presence at the Day 2 author session 5-6 PM to be eligible for an award.
How the committee decides.
The scientific committee of twelve experts evaluates each submission in double-blind on five weighted criteria:
- 25%
Pan-African relevance
The work directly concerns the African last mile or is transferable to the continent.
- 25%
Methodological rigour
Clear approach, verifiable data, acknowledged biases, discussed limitations.
- 20%
Originality and contribution
Novel contribution or original angle. Negative results are welcome.
- 20%
Operational impact
Concrete applicability, scalability, actionable recommendations for decision-makers.
- 10%
Writing quality
Clarity, structure, adherence to the requested format.
Key dates.
July 31, 2026
Submission deadline
September 15, 2026
Acceptance notification to authors
September 30, 2026
Authors' summit registration deadline
October 21, 2026
Oral presentations (Day 2)
October 22, 2026
Scientific poster sessions (Day 2 — 5 PM)
October 23, 2026
Awards by track at the closing ceremony
Choose your main track.
Each track is led by two expert reviewers. You select the most relevant track; the committee may redirect your submission to a more appropriate track if needed.
HealthTech — Innovations in last-mile digital health
- ·Telemedicine and rural teleconsultation
- ·Diagnostic AI and medical imaging
- ·Mobile patient records and interoperability
- ·Sexual and reproductive rights & health
- ·Epidemic management and digital health surveillance
- ·Medical delivery drones and cold chain
- ·Gender, inclusion and equity in access to care
FinTech — Financial inclusion, mobile money and micro-insurance
- ·Mobile money and proximity payments
- ·Micro-insurance and index-based products
- ·Rural credit and financing for African SMEs
- ·Digital identity and inclusive KYC
- ·Cross-border payments and remittances
- ·BCEAO / ECOWAS regulation and open finance
AgriTech — Food security and connected agriculture
- ·Digital agronomic advice via SMS / voice
- ·Satellite data and crop monitoring
- ·Cold chain and post-harvest logistics
- ·Traceability and certification of agricultural products
- ·Index-based insurance and climate resilience
- ·Cooperative platforms and market access
EdTech — Human capital and digital training
- ·MOOCs and learning in local languages
- ·Vocational training and digital certification
- ·Digital literacy for adults
- ·Platforms for low-bandwidth territories
- ·Assessment, monitoring and recognition of skills
- ·Leadership and soft skills for youth
ImmoTech — Affordable housing, land and smart territories
- ·Affordable housing and modular construction
- ·Digital cadastre and digital land titles
- ·Inclusive smart cities and urban services
- ·Rental platforms and real estate marketplaces
- ·Housing IoT (water, energy, security)
- ·Housing finance and digital mortgage
Sovereign AI and African data governance
- ·AI models trained on African data
- ·AI in local languages (Wolof, Bambara, Lingala, Baoulé…)
- ·Data protection and African compliance
- ·Technological sovereignty and African cloud
- ·AI ethics and bias mitigation
- ·Cross-sector convergences health × finance × agri × education × housing
To put all the odds in your favour.
- An active and precise title. "Neonatal telemedicine in Côte d'Ivoire: 2024-2025 pilot study" > "Study on digital health in Africa".
- A structured abstract (Context / Objective / Method / Results / Conclusion), even if the sections are not explicitly labelled.
- Numbers. A study mentioning 3,200 patients or 47 villages carries more weight than a general qualitative description.
- African citations. Reference relevant pan-African work first, before European/American sources.
- Balanced co-authors. A mixed signature (researcher + practitioner + operator) reinforces operational credibility.
- Targeted keywords. 4 to 6 keywords combining the track ("telemedicine"), the method ("prospective study") and the field ("Côte d'Ivoire").
What leads to near-automatic rejection.
- ×Purely promotional pitch of a product/service without data or method.
- ×Work already published elsewhere with no new added value for the summit.
- ×Off-topic submissions (not addressing the African last mile or the summit verticals).
- ×Out-of-format abstracts (less than 100 characters or more than 4,000).
- ×Unidentifiable single author (pseudonym, generic email, no affiliation).
- ×Plagiarism or unsourced paraphrasing — automatically detected by our text consistency tool.
Six awards per track + a poster award.
Six "Best Paper" awards are presented at the closing ceremony (one per track), each carrying a 500,000 FCFA grant and priority publication in the Africa Last Mile Index 2026.
A "Best Poster" award rewards visual and pedagogical quality: 250,000 FCFA + premium printing for a pan-African travelling exhibition in 2027.
All accepted abstracts are compiled in the ALMS 2026 Proceedings Booklet, available in open access at the end of the summit.
Everything you need to know.
Do I need to be registered for the summit to submit?+
No — you can submit an abstract before registering. However, if your paper is accepted, the lead author must register for the summit by September 30, 2026 to appear in the official programme.
Can I submit multiple abstracts?+
Yes, up to three submissions per lead author, provided they cover distinct topics. Beyond that, the committee will only consider the three best ones.
Is my work published if the paper is accepted?+
The abstract is published in the ALMS booklet and on the website. The paper itself remains your property; you can publish it elsewhere (journal, conference) without restriction from us.
What happens if my abstract is rejected?+
You receive reasoned feedback from the committee with areas for improvement. You may resubmit a revised version for the "Young Researchers" sessions, decided on a case-by-case basis.
Can I present remotely if I cannot attend?+
Physical presence is required for oral presentations. A videoconference exception may be granted in exceptional cases (visa issues, force majeure) — send the request to secretariat@africalastmile.com.
Who covers poster printing?+
Printing is the authors' responsibility. ALMS offers an on-site printing service (€50 per A0 poster) to be booked before September 21, 2026 via your participant area.
Under which licence is the abstract published?+
Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 by default. You may request a more restrictive licence (BY-NC-ND) at submission if needed.
Another question? Email secretariat@africalastmile.com. Our scientific team replies within 3 business days.
Ready to share your work?
Submissions open until July 31, 2026 · Save as draft · Committee response by September 15, 2026 at the latest.