The Challenge

Africa Startup Congress is a major continental gathering — 2,000+ founders, investors, and policymakers converging in Kigali, Rwanda to accelerate job creation and innovation across Africa. An event at this scale needed more than a marketing site: it needed a functioning platform to manage the full attendee lifecycle, from first discovery through to the day of the event.

Scope

I handled the project end-to-end — design and development — covering three core systems layered onto the public-facing site:

Marketing & Information Layer A polished, credible front door for the congress — communicating scale (2,000+ attendees), relevance (founders, investors, policymakers), and location (Kigali, Rwanda) clearly enough to convert visits into registrations.

Event Registration & Ticketing A registration flow built to handle high-volume sign-ups smoothly, capturing the right attendee information and confirming registration without friction — critical for an event drawing participants from across the continent and internationally.

Speaker & Agenda Management (CMS) A content system for managing speakers, sessions, and the event agenda without needing developer involvement for every update — letting organizers adjust the program as the event evolves in the lead-up.

Attendee Dashboard A dedicated portal giving registered attendees a personalized view — their registration status, relevant event details, and access to information specific to their participation.

Design Considerations

Given the caliber of attendees (investors, policymakers, founders), the visual design needed to project credibility and continental scale while remaining fast and accessible — important given the range of connectivity conditions across the African markets the attendees are traveling from.

Outcome

A live, launched event platform supporting the full attendee journey — from registration through to agenda access — for one of the continent's major startup and investment gatherings.