AFTCREE Will Provide Roadmap to Expand Global Trade

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
The Africa Tourism and Creative Economy Expo (AFTCREE) will provide Africa with a concrete roadmap for expanding its share of global trade through the culture-tourism corridor.

The Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of AFTCREE announced this ahead of the hosting of the continent’s premier culture, tourism, and creative economy gathering scheduled for November 24–25, 2025, at the Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja.

He noted that a central target of the Expo, the launch of Agenda 2030, is an ambitious initiative aimed at increasing Africa’s current contribution to global trade from less than three per cent to at least 10 per cent by the year 2030.
“Our mission is to raise Africa’s share of global tourism and creative industry revenue by promoting collaboration, peer review and investment attraction across the continent,” he said.

The LOC also confirmed strong institutional support for the Expo, including endorsements from the World Trade Organization (WTO) under the leadership of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the African Union (AU) Social Secretariat in Addis Ababa and other regional partners.
In preparation for the Expo, the LOC has engaged a broad range of stakeholders, including African envoys, non-African foreign missions across America, Asia, Europe and Australia, tourism boards, development finance institutions, tour operators, airlines and creative industry bodies, expected to make the Expo a truly continental platform for policy dialogue, business matchmaking, investment fair and cultural exchange.

A major innovation to be unveiled at the event is the “Cultourmetre,” a digital tool developed to monitor, in real time, the progress African countries are making in tourism and the creative economy.
Also, the Managing Director of Afrocultour Limited and Chief Executive Officer of the Expo, Mr. Chuks Akamadu, described culture and tourism as Africa’s “low-hanging fruits” for economic transformation.

He lamented that despite Africa’s exports totaling about $614.58 billion in 2023, the continent still accounted for less than three per cent of global trade and only five per cent of global tourism revenue.
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, will officially declare the Expo opened, while the Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy Hannatu Musa Musawa is hosting the historic Expo in partnership with Afrocultour Limited.