In what organizers termed a historic continental intervention, Abuja recently hosted the inaugural Africa Tourism and Creative Economy Expo, bringing together policymakers, culture custodians, investors, and creative economy leaders from across the continent.
Confronting Africa's Economic Paradox
From November 24-25, delegates gathered in Nigeria's capital for a crucial conversation about Africa's untapped potential. The event's convener, Mr. Chuks Akamadu, Managing Director of Afrocultour Limited, delivered a powerful message that resonated throughout the conference halls.
"Africa is sitting on a goldmine but behaving like a continent content with crumbs," Akamadu declared, capturing the essence of the continental challenge. Despite Africa's vast natural endowments, rich cultural assets, and vibrant creative talent, the continent contributes less than three percent to global trade.
The Minister for Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Barr. Hannatu Musa Musawa, represented by Permanent Secretary Dr. Mukhtar Muhammad Yawale, joined other leaders in addressing what Akamadu called "Africa's most painful paradox."
The Untapped Potential of African Culture and Tourism
Participants examined why a continent blessed with globally recognized festivals like Algeria's Timgad International Music Festival, Morocco's Mawazine, Nigeria's Durbar, and heritage sites including the Pyramids of Giza remains economically under-leveraged.
Poor infrastructure, weak policy frameworks, and fragmented markets continue to limit value creation from these assets. Even the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), launched in 2018 with promises of creating the world's largest free trade bloc, has seen its potential largely unrealized seven years later.
Akamadu argued that AfCFTA cannot succeed as a government-only initiative, emphasizing that businesses, creatives, civil society, and other non-state actors must take ownership. Without this philosophical shift, he warned, the agreement risks becoming "another noble idea stalled by continental inertia."
A New Framework for Measuring Progress
One of the Expo's most significant announcements was the introduction of the Cultourmetre, a first-of-its-kind index designed to rank all 54 African countries on culture-tourism performance. This innovative tool will evaluate multiple factors including budget allocation to culture and tourism, sector contribution to GDP, and infrastructure and policy development.
Afrocultour has already engaged the African Union Commission, AfCFTA Secretariat, Afreximbank, and a global audit firm to ensure the index's credibility. The first annual report will be launched during the 2026 edition of the Expo.
The gathering outlined clear, measurable goals: increase Africa's share of global trade from 3% to at least 10%, and raise Africa's global tourism revenue share from 5% to 20%. Achieving these targets will require coordinated policies, major infrastructure investments, incentives for the creative sector, and improved intra-African mobility.
Building a Continental Consensus
Nigeria received commendation for hosting the maiden edition in partnership with Afrocultour. The strong attendance from several African nations and foreign missions signaled growing continental and global recognition of culture and tourism as key economic drivers.
The Expo's closing communiqué urged African governments to prioritize tourism and the creative economy as engines of development, with specific targets to raise Africa's global trade share to 10% and tourism revenue to 20% by 2030.
Other recommendations included improving access to funding, creating stronger legal frameworks, providing incentives to attract local and foreign investment, and strengthening institutional structures by taking cues from Nigeria's model for synergy and productivity.
The event also resolved to institutionalize the Expo (AFTCREE) as an annual event, rotating across Africa's sub-regions to ensure fairness, inclusivity, and broad ownership.
As Akamadu stated in his closing charge: "Africa, arise and shine, for your hour has come." The Expo offered both a wake-up call and a roadmap, with Africa's economic independence and place in the fast-evolving global economy hanging in the balance.
