By Barth Ikiebe
Nigeria has described the Afrocentric Cultural Expo 2026 as more than a festival, saying it would serve as a major economic activation aimed at stimulating the creative economy.
The Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, disclosed this in a message to formally unveil the Cultural Expo at a ceremony in Abuja.
Represented by her Special Adviser on Job Creation, Jemma Amachree, She said the organisers projected a direct economic injection of more than N200 million into the local economy.
The 10-day Pan-African cultural and economic event is scheduled to take place from November 7 to 18 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Complex, Abuja.
The Expo is organised by the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce- USA, NICOCUSA, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, the Glotrade Company and the Afrocentric Global Expo Organising Committee.
The Minister said the Expo had the potential to redefine how the world saw, experienced, and engaged with Africa.
She said the initiative was designed to enable Africa to reclaim its narrative and derive greater economic value from its cultural and creative resources, while noting that Africa’s art, fashion, music, film, and culinary heritage had enriched the global stage for decades.
Hannatu, however, said economic benefits generated from the continent’s creativity had often failed to reach the creators of the wealth, but the time had come for Africa to build its own economy around its cultural and creative assets.
“The Federal Ministry is bringing the world to Nigeria, while the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Complex will be transformed into a major global centre for African heritage, culture, creativity, and enterprise’, she assured.
According to her, more than 1,000 exhibition booths would be made available to vendors, entrepreneurs, and large-scale enterprises, adding that the Expo would combine an Afrocentric Music Festival, Film Festival, high-fashion exhibition, and global business and investment forum.
She added that the event would connect the African diaspora in the Americas, Caribbean, Europe, and Asia with opportunities on the continent and that the Expo could rival the historic grandeur of FESTAC ’77, with programmes celebrating African culture, intellect, enterprise, and youth.
The Culture Minister noted that the programmes would include university debates, heritage awards, and activities celebrating African youth, including a continental football tournament.
“The time has come for our culture to be valued not only as heritage but also as an economic asset,” she said.
She said African creative talents deserved markets commensurate with their potential and called for greater global attention to the continent’s tourism destinations.
Africa’s creativity could become a stronger driver of jobs, investment, innovation, and sustainable development.
Hannatu Musawa explained that the Ministry recognised that an Expo of such magnitude required collaboration among governments, the private sector, and international partners, while assuring stakeholders that the Ministry would ensure the Expo was professionally delivered, commercially viable, and inclusive.
“Our ambition is not simply to organise an event, but to build an institutional platform with lasting economic and cultural impact,” she noted.
She called on Nigerians, Africans, members of the diaspora, investors, businesses, and other stakeholders to support and participate in the Afrocentric Expo 2026, adding that the Federal Government was formally unveiling the project as a platform through which the world could experience Africa and discover Nigeria.
Earlier in a welcome address, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of NICOCUSA, Mr Gregory Uche Ihenacho, called for stronger collaboration and global support for the Afrocentric Cultural Expo 2026.
He said the project, conceived about eight years ago in Los Angeles, United States, was designed to unite Africans and the diaspora, noting that the initiative would provide a platform to celebrate African heritage while creating economic, business, and investment opportunities across the continent.
“This project is not for Nigeria alone. It is for the entire Africa. It is designed and created to be the largest cultural platform globally,” he said.
According to him, the Expo would feature 12 major events running simultaneously throughout the 10-day programme, noting that the organisers are working to position Nigeria as a global cultural authority through its arts, fashion, music, food, and creative industries.
Ihenacho explained that the initiative would help correct negative perceptions about Nigeria by showcasing its cultural wealth and creative talents, stating that the success of Nigerian artistes, particularly internationally recognised Afrobeats stars, had demonstrated the country’s growing global cultural influence.
He said the Afrocentric Music Festival would provide a platform to discover and develop emerging artistes, adding that about 300 artistes had registered.
“We want to discover more talent, the future Davido, the future Burna Boy, and package them not only to entertain us here, while the Afrocentric Fashion Week, would cover the fashion value chain from cotton production and harvesting to textiles and finished products.
He said the programme would spotlight Nigeria’s textile industry and the potential of cities such as Kaduna to regain their status as textile manufacturing centres.
Another component, African Women Are Gorgeous (AWAG) International, would celebrate African women for achievements in business, politics, economics, academia, and other fields.
Mr Ihenacho said the Expo would also feature the Afrocentric Cultural Dance programme, showcasing the richness and diversity of African traditional and contemporary dance, while the Afrocentric University Intellectual Debate would provide African universities and students with opportunities to demonstrate intellectual capacity and promote educational exchanges.
The Custodians of African Heritage Awards, also known as the Kings and Queens Awards, would honour traditional rulers for preserving African heritage.
“We created this to honour the custodians of our heritage — our traditional rulers,” he noted.
The NICOCUSA Boss also announced the Afrocentric Food Expo, which would showcase African cuisine and its growing acceptance in international markets, noting that Nigerian dishes, including amala, had gained popularity outside Africa, adding that the Expo would promote African culinary heritage globally.
There will also be NICOCUSA Business Summit that would serve as the business component connecting the various activities, with emphasis on investment, trade, and partnerships.
According to him, Nigeria’s industrial and commercial base made the country strategically positioned as a hub for African trade and cultural exchange.
“We want Nigeria to be the centre. This project is a Pan-African movement. It is a Pan-African project,” he stated.
“There is no way in this world that we could carry out this project without collaboration,
Nigeria would host the inaugural edition, while plans are underway to expand the Expo to other African countries”, he assured.
In a goodwill message, Mr Michael Igwe-Kalu, Project Manager, Strategic Marketing Partnership Network (SMPN), said the organisation would support the Expo by connecting African students, entrepreneurs, creatives and businesses with global corporations and investors.
“If I had access to an opportunity like this in my early years after graduation, I believe I would have connected with many more global corporations,” he remarked.
The organisers said the Expo would provide an environment for participants to connect, collaborate, market, invest and build relationships beyond the event.
Our Correspondent reports that the high point of the event was the official unveiling of the Afrocentric Cultural Expo 2026 logo and Cultural dance to entertain the guests.
