The multi-donor funded ABS Capacity Development Initiative (ABS Initiative), in collaboration with the African Union Commission’s Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment (AUC DARBE) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) organized the dialogue between African scientists working with digital sequence information on genetic resources (DSI) and African policy makers involved in related legislative work and international negotiations, with the objective of establishing an African science and policy network on DSI. A mix of technical inputs, targeted group work and plenary sessions (see the agenda in Annex 1) offered participants the opportunity to learn about the role of DSI in research, exchange views and to provide advice on the development of DSI policies and modalities of the multilateral DSI benefit-sharing mechanism with an African perspective. More than 30 participants – representing the biodiversity sector, crop and livestock science, and the health sector – provided a balanced representation of national policy makers / negotiators and scientists working in publicly funded national and international research institutions.