The much-anticipated Evidence 2023 event opened with a sterling display of the power of storytelling in EIDM by eBASE Africa. Delegates were welcomed to the Pearl of Africa with an opening address from the Minister of State, Office of the President, Economic Monitoring (Uganda), Honourable Alello Beatrice Akori. And the keynote address by Adeline Sibanda from the Mastercard Foundation on the decoloniality of evidence really set the tone.