Bringing together Africa's largest and most ambitious gathering of entrepreneurs, innovators, investors and policymakers, Afretrade, Inc., a U.S.-based business consortium of experts in trade, technology, AI, marketing and finance with a focus on global trade facilitation and diaspora investment, has announced the Afretrade Entrepreneur Festival (TAEF) which will take place in Lagos.
The three-day summit, scheduled from June 17–19, 2026 at Eko Hotels & Suites, aims to build a sustainable ecosystem for Africa's economic renaissance with intention, capital and urgency.
Day One: Grand Opening
Day one will open with a grand plenary where former President Olusegun Obasanjo, one of the continent's most consequential Pan-African voices, will deliver the keynote address, anchoring the formal launch of the Africa Economic Renaissance Movement. Alongside him, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), Toks Omishakin, will lead the official California delegation and speak to the economic synergies between Lagos and California, an economy ranking as the fourth largest in the world.
Day Two: Workshops and Networking
Day two will feature intensive workshops, SME pitch sessions, a B2B Deal Room where investors meet founders directly, a Fashion Runway Show, and panel discussions spanning trade, technology, and diaspora investment.
Day Three: Lagos Focus
The third and final day pivots toward Lagos itself with site visits, urban tours, investor-entrepreneur roundtables, a farewell reception, and a Gala Night.
According to the organisers, the festival will serve as the formal launch of two landmark initiatives: the Afretrade Africa Economic Renaissance Movement, a coordinated global effort to mobilise the African diaspora as an engine of trade, investment and institutional development; and the Lagos–California Sister State Economic Corridor, designed to structurally connect two of the world's most dynamic business ecosystems.
Festival Director's Vision
Festival Director, TAEF and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Afretrade Inc., Dr. Charly Lemassi, said the upcoming festival is not just a conference but a movement. "For the first time, we are bringing the full weight of the global African diaspora: investors, innovators, entrepreneurs and policymakers into one room with a single, shared mandate."
Speaking on the festival's importance, she said the time is right. "We have been hearing that Africa is the next frontier but I believe Africa is now, not next, but now." The distinction, she insisted, is not semantic. It is a call to action and it is the animating idea behind what she said will be the continent's largest diaspora investment and entrepreneurship summit.
"Furthermore, with current global events like trade tariffs, travel bans, restrictions and so on, a lot of people are losing hope. In addition, people are battling inflation, rising cost of living and so on. Financially, emotionally and even mentally, people are tired and looking for solutions. Now is the time to provide that solution."
Stressing that diaspora communities across the United States, Canada, Europe, South America, and the Caribbean, many of whom have built capital and expertise in their countries of residence, are not waiting for governments to lead the charge, she said, "We in the diaspora have not forgotten home, we often think about how we can support. We don't want to leave everything to the government to do because we know many things will not get done, especially concerning empowering people financially. We cannot however solve everyone's problems, but we want to work with those that are ready and those that are ready must be at the festival."
Structural Impediments to Intra-African Trade
Dr. Lemassi was forthright about the structural impediments that have held intra-African trade well below its potential, even as frameworks like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) exist to unlock it. Touching on the low trade numbers within the continent, she said poor access to information is the first obstacle that needs to be surmounted. "Awareness is low for many of us. Exporters need to be aware what intra-African trading will mean to them. Many business owners are not even aware that they can send goods to the remotest parts of Africa under AfCFTA; many people don't know what to do or how to even start."
Access to networks and market intelligence was the second obstacle she named. "Exporters and traders need to know where to access help. If you want to trade in South Africa for instance, who are you going to connect with over there? If you bring your goods to South Africa today, how will you access the market? Trust is also very low here as Africans don't even trust themselves. We must build trust and verification to start trading effectively amongst ourselves."
Adding that access to funds remains a significant barrier, she said many exporters do not have the required capital that can help them expand manufacturing to fulfill export demands. "This is why we are looking for thriving businesses that have proof of concept that can be assisted to scale. Building a company and growing it to the next level takes knowledge and guidance with the right information from the right people. We hope to use the festival to create an ecosystem that will serve as a springboard for exporters and entrepreneurs. That means that after the festival, we continue to work with those that attended the festival."
That long-term commitment, to maintain relationships and structures beyond the three days of the festival, appears to be central to Afretrade's pitch. The Africa Economic Renaissance Movement is designed as a sustained mobilisation platform, not a one-off convening. She reiterated that their ecosystem is set to support hundreds of transactions across Africa and the African diaspora, connecting MSMEs with investors, markets and the institutional infrastructure needed for sustainable growth.
With over 3,000 delegates from over 40 countries expected and high-level delegations confirmed from the United States (California, New York, Texas), Canada, the UK, France, Germany and across Africa, as well as Brazil and the Caribbean; she revealed that it will be live streamed for viewers all over the world to participate. The combined economic footprint represented is projected to exceed $500 billion.
As Lagos prepares to host a delegation the scale of which the continent has rarely seen assembled in one place, Dr. Lemassi's conviction remains unambiguous: the diaspora has capital, Africa has opportunity and the only thing left to do is bring both parties together.
