Ahouèkè's closing speech touched upon the role of mobile learning, which was a key talking point throughout the three-day conference. Forty-eight per cent of respondents in a survey conducted for the eLearning Africa 2012 Report said that they use mobile technology in teaching. The impact of mobile technology also formed the basis of the eLearning Africa Debate, in which speakers argued whether mobile technology would soon make teachers redundant as learners increasingly use ICT to study on their own.

Speaking before a packed auditorium at the opening plenary session, researcher Professor Sugata Mitra presented his experiences of self-organised learning environments, including his famous hole-in-the-wall experiment and a new project in which retirees teach disadvantaged children via Skype. He called into question current schooling systems still based on dated Victorian standards that are far removed from the social, economic, political, and technological reality of today.

A riveting speech by Father Nzamujo, the founder and director of the Songhai Regional Centre, addressed Africa's leading policymakers, decision makers, and ICT-in-education experts. Nzamujo spoke of the value of ICT-enhanced education in uplifting the Continent. The matter of political will was highlighted for deeper discussion by a focus group that convened to discuss critical matters relating to eLearning in education, training, and development in Africa.

Next year's eLearning Africa conference will take place in Windhoek, Namibia.