By Barth Ikiebe
African Women Are Gorgeous Awards will take the centre stage at Afrocentric Cultural Expo 2026 in Abuja Nigeria from 7th to 18th November.
African Women Are Gorgeous (AWAG) International is one of the major programmes of the Afrocentric Cultural Expo (ACE) 2026.
The programme is hosted by the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce-USA (NICOCUSA) in strategic collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, GloTrade Limited and other partners.
Organisers say the programme is not intended to simply reproduce the conventional Western beauty-pageant model that has been adopted and adapted across Africa for decades.
Instead, AWAG seeks to redefine what it means to celebrate an African woman.
“Beauty remains part of the celebration, but it is not the entire definition”.
According to Mr Gregory Uche Ihenacho, the CEO of NICOCUSA, “The programme seeks to recognise African women for their identity, intelligence, confidence, creativity, enterprise, leadership, cultural heritage and contribution to society”.
“An AWAG participant is therefore not expected to represent beauty alone. She can be an entrepreneur, a scientist, a professional, a community leader, a cultural ambassador, an innovator and a woman preserving her community’s heritage”.
Mr Iheanacho explained that for generations, African women have often been presented through beauty standards developed outside the continent.
“AWAG seeks to create a platform where African women can be celebrated within an African cultural context, drawing inspiration from the continent’s diverse identities, traditions, values and contemporary achievements”, he noted.
“From the elegance of African traditional attire to contemporary African fashion, from indigenous beauty traditions to modern entrepreneurship, the programme aims to present a more complete picture of the African woman.
Mr Iheanacho stated that AWAG International is designed to create a platform where African women can own the narrative surrounding their identity.
It will celebrate women who are contributing to business, culture, education, technology, entertainment, agriculture, fashion, healthcare, community development and other areas of African society.
“The programme also seeks to inspire younger women to understand that beauty and achievement are not competing identities”.
“An African woman can be beautiful, intelligent, ambitious, entrepreneurial, culturally grounded and globally relevant at the same time”.
“That is the message AWAG seeks to take to the world”.
As part of ACE 2026, AWAG will contribute to a broader conversation about African identity and the growing influence of African women across the global stage.
“Rather than asking African women to fit into an imported template, the programme seeks to create a platform where African women can define their own representation”, Iheanacho stated.
Afrocentric Expo 2026 To Celebrate Beauty of African Women
