diff --git a/.github/workflows/system-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/system-tests.yml
index b8ce5cb907..e6bd299e0d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/system-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/system-tests.yml
@@ -78,6 +78,10 @@ jobs:
       # If ever it's needed, a valid key exists in the repo, using ${{ secrets.DD_API_KEY }}
       DD_API_KEY: 1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef
       CMAKE_BUILD_PARALLEL_LEVEL: 12
+      AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.IDM_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
+      AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.IDM_AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
+      AWS_REGION:  us-east-1
+      AWS_DEFAULT_REGION: us-east-1  # AWS services should use `AWS_REGION`, but some still use the older `AWS_DEFAULT_REGION`
     steps:
 
       - name: Checkout system tests
@@ -132,6 +136,10 @@ jobs:
       # If ever it's needed, a valid key exists in the repo, using ${{ secrets.DD_API_KEY }}
       DD_API_KEY: 1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef
       CMAKE_BUILD_PARALLEL_LEVEL: 12
+      AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.IDM_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
+      AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.IDM_AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
+      AWS_REGION:  us-east-1
+      AWS_DEFAULT_REGION: us-east-1  # AWS services should use `AWS_REGION`, but some still use the older `AWS_DEFAULT_REGION`
     steps:
 
       - name: Checkout system tests
diff --git a/ddtrace/contrib/internal/kafka/patch.py b/ddtrace/contrib/internal/kafka/patch.py
index 40f633bcf8..74a65e4c84 100644
--- a/ddtrace/contrib/internal/kafka/patch.py
+++ b/ddtrace/contrib/internal/kafka/patch.py
@@ -249,7 +249,7 @@ def _instrument_message(messages, pin, start_ns, instance, err):
 
         for message in messages:
             if message is not None and first_message is not None:
-                core.set_item("kafka_topic", first_message.topic())
+                core.set_item("kafka_topic", str(first_message.topic()))
                 core.dispatch("kafka.consume.start", (instance, first_message, span))
 
         span.set_tag_str(MESSAGING_SYSTEM, kafkax.SERVICE)
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@ def _instrument_message(messages, pin, start_ns, instance, err):
         if first_message is not None:
             message_key = first_message.key() or ""
             message_offset = first_message.offset() or -1
-            span.set_tag_str(kafkax.TOPIC, first_message.topic())
+            span.set_tag_str(kafkax.TOPIC, str(first_message.topic()))
 
             # If this is a deserializing consumer, do not set the key as a tag since we
             # do not have the serialization function
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/kafka_message_topic_none_fix-2bc3fd6388075b94.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/kafka_message_topic_none_fix-2bc3fd6388075b94.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..05f9a9c6e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/kafka_message_topic_none_fix-2bc3fd6388075b94.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+---
+fixes:
+  - |
+    kafka: Fixed an issue where a ``TypeError`` exception would be raised if the first message's ``topic()`` returned ``None`` during consumption.