What We Took Away from ICT4D 2026

In May, the Ona Insights team spent the week at the ICT4D Conference 2026: three days of NGOs, governments, donors, researchers, and technologists working through how data and technology can actually serve development organizations.

With the conference hosted in Nairobi, we were proud to take part as both a sponsor and exhibitor. We left curious and energised, mostly because of the conversations. Founded in 2010 by Catholic Relief Services and produced this year with TechChange, ICT4D has a quality that's rare for a technology conference: people talk honestly about what doesn't work, not just what demos well. Our booth stayed busy all week, and the discussions (in sessions, in hallways, over coffee) were the best part of it.

A few themes stood out.

Individuals have a right to their own data. Responsible data sharing across organisations isn't only possible; it's already happening when it's built on the right principles. The question isn't whether to share; it's how to govern it well.

Localised voice is no longer the future. It's now. Language models in local languages are here or being actively built. People in the field want to interact by voice, and the economics finally make it viable at scale. That's a genuine shift for how last-mile services get designed.

AI is only as good as the data underneath it. Without serious upstream work on data structure and context, AI will hand you confident answers optimised for someone else's problem. That work isn't glamorous, but it's the difference between insight and noise.

Our own Jonathan Munene shared how we've worked alongside UNICEF and UN Women to strengthen customer feedback and case management systems in complex, vulnerable contexts. He spoke to the challenge of building feedback loops that are technically sound and accessible, responsive and practical, in places where connectivity and operational realities keep shifting. Multilingual channels, configurable workflows, real-time reporting: these are design decisions, not abstractions.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who came by our booth to learn more about our work and engage in conversation. The questions, the ideas, and the new connections made the week for us. Thank you, too, to the CRS and TechChange teams for hosting a genuinely thoughtful event.

Let's keep the conversations going.