Turning Creativity into Continental Economic Strategy

For two days, stakeholders gathered in Abuja for the maiden Africa Tourism and Creative Economy Expo. Charles Ajunwa,  Olawale Ajimotokanand Folalumi Alaran highlight continental perspectives on how creative and tourism industries are redefining development across the continent

Across Africa, a quiet but deliberate transformation is underway—one that could alter the continent’s economic map and global identity. For decades, Africa’s growth narrative has been built around oil, minerals, and agriculture. But now, a new engine is emerging from an unlikely source: the imagination of its people.

From bustling film sets in Lagos to music studios in Kinshasa, from fashion ateliers in Dakar to digital art hubs in Nairobi, the creative economy is fast becoming Africa’s most dynamic frontier. It is where talent meets technology, where heritage becomes trade, and where storytelling evolves into soft power.

 Experts say this shift is more than cultural—it’s economic. The continent’s policymakers and investors are beginning to recognise that creativity is not just about expression, but about enterprise. The creative and tourism sectors already employ millions across Africa, yet their full potential remains untapped. The question now confronting leaders and industry players is how to transform Africa’s vast cultural wealth into measurable economic value.

 That question took centre stage at the Africa Tourism and Creative Economy Expo (AFTCREE) 2025, a high-level continental dialogue that gathered ministers, diplomats, investors, and innovators around one bold vision: to reposition Africa’s creative and tourism sectors as the backbone of trade and sustainable development.

With the theme “Optimising Africa’s Comparative and Competitive Advantage for Accelerated Trade and Economic Growth,” the Expo offered more than ceremony—it was a strategic call for Africa to leverage culture as an instrument of trade, diplomacy, and sustainable development.

From Heritage to Enterprise

 Speaking at the forum, the Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, urged African countries to move from rhetoric to practical reform. She described the continent as “rich in culture, heritage, and youthful creativity,” yet said those assets remain underutilised.

Her point was both economic and philosophical: culture should not be treated as a side note to development—it is development.

“Our task is to move from potential to practicality; we must invest in innovation, training, access to finance, and cross-sector collaboration that translates creativity into livelihoods.” she said. 

Musawa, represented by the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Dr. Mukhtar Yawale Mohammed, outlined four strategic goals under Nigeria’s cultural and creative policy reform, including establishing creative clusters and innovation hubs where artists, filmmakers, and digital creators can access infrastructure and mentorship, reviving heritage and tourism assets to attract visitors and investment, deepening partnerships with financial institutions, such as the Bank of Industry, to improve access to credit for creative entrepreneurs and expanding cultural diplomacy to project Nigeria’s soft power and influence abroad.

She explained that these initiatives align with the broader goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to promote trade in services—including creative services—across African borders. A new National Creative and Cultural Economic Model, she said, will help harmonize this strategy, turning Africa’s creative energy into a tradeable commodity.

The CultourMetre: Measuring the Intangible

 If Musawa’s focus was on policy reform, the Managing Director of Afrocultour Limited and convener of the Expo, Chuks Akamadu, emphasised metrics, accountability, and measurable growth.

He noted that despite its enormous potential, Africa still contributes less than three percent to global trade and a mere five percent of global tourism revenue.

“We cannot continue to sit on our fortunes while depending on aid, Africa must stop being a destination for sympathy and start being a destination for investment.” he said. 

The CultourMetre, a new assessment tool designed to track and rank African countries by their investment and progress in the creative and tourism sectors was unveiled at the event. Developed in partnership with the African Union Commission, AfCFTA Secretariat, and AFREXIM Bank, the CultourMetre will use objective data to measure countries’ performance—budget allocation, sectoral GDP contribution, and policy implementation.

The tool’s targets are bold: raising Africa’s share of global trade to 10 percent and tourism revenue to 20 percent by 2030. “This is Africa’s moment, the world will no longer measure us by our challenges but by how we transform creativity into capital.” Akamadu said.

 Awards for Kano, Plateau, Emirates

The two-day event was characterised by cultural performances by the Kano State Troupe,

Africa on the Runway (Fashion Show), an organised tour of Abuja, chorale group, Makosa dancers from Congo DR, gala night and presentation of special awards. Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang and Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, bagged the Africa Friend of Culture Tourism awards, while the Travel Gold Awards were presented to Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and Emirates Airline. Emirates was recognized for supporting job creation, facilitating trade on the African continent and connecting Africa’s tourism destinations. 

It contributed $407 million to the economy of South Africa alone between 2014-2015. The award was received for Emirates by President of Continental Fleet, Alex Rodney.

Culture as Soft Power and Peacebuilding

The event also attracted diplomatic voices who see the creative sector as a bridge between nations. The Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Congo to Nigeria, Pascaline Gerengbo Yakivu, in her goodwill message, said culture remains a powerful instrument of peace, understanding, and cooperation.

She commended Nigeria for its leadership in promoting Africa’s creative industries, noting that “cultural exchange transcends barriers and brings people closer together.”

 The ambassador highlighted Congo’s own creative assets—from its world-renowned Rumba music and cuisine to its national parks and biodiversity—as tools not only for tourism but for economic renewal and social cohesion. “Our cultural diversity helps build peace and create opportunities,” she said.

 Re-imagining the Economics of Creativity

 Deliberations throughout the Expo returned to one central theme: that Africa’s creative and tourism industries are vastly underdeveloped relative to their potential. Participants cited familiar challenges—funding deficits, weak legal frameworks, limited infrastructure, and data scarcity—but insisted that the time has come for structural change.

Resolutions from the meeting called for stronger government commitment, better access to finance, and a more investment-friendly environment for creative entrepreneurs. Delegates also underscored the importance of Edu-tourism, cultural preservation, and policy consolidation, urging African governments to integrate their culture and tourism portfolios under unified structures for efficiency.

These steps, they argued, are not just bureaucratic—they are essential for Africa to raise its share of global trade and tourism to meaningful levels.

 The Botswana Experience

The High Commissioner of Botswana to Nigeria, Philda Nani Kereng, who drew from her country’s experience also provided insights on how Africa can use its comparative and competitive advantage for accelerated trade and economic growth.

Kereng, who was from 2019-2024, the former Botswana’s Minister of Environment and Tourism before coming to Nigeria, spoke on how Botswana transited from a poor country to a middle-income country, largely by utilising revenue from its diamond resources for tourism.

She said the Southern African country achieved economic growth from nothing at independence in 1966, had just one kilometre of road, no water, no schools, no hospitals and no educated people.

“But through progressive policies, laws, and good governance that turned our diamond revenue into a resource that developed other sectors, we found our diamonds two years after independence, and we had a new way to see what we can do with it. So something that is interesting for the continent is that the business of diamond industry has been a benchmark for Botswana because we have been able to generate income, they developed our social protection, developed our infrastructure, schools, health, and all that, and also advanced free education and free health up to today,” she said.

She said that tourism and creative sometimes are about finding uniqueness and building on it, adding that AFTCREE was a moment to discuss how to connect countries based on culture, creative industry, and being able to build and grow together.

She stressed that though Botswana achieved a lot development through mineral mining but changes in the market, including decline in diamond sales had forced them to look into other sectors, with tourism put on the high priority list.

“We are thinking transformation and diversification into other sectors, and tourism stands high in that priority list. What are we endowed with as Africa? We have abundance of resources that have not yet been optimized. We have wildlife. Botswana has the highest population of elephants in the world. The reason why the Minister of Tourism is environmental tourism is because we’ve been selling biodiversity to wildlife as a key tourism experience to go and see the lions, go and camp in the wilderness, and so forth. So, a lot of African countries have these kinds of resources. We are also rich in culture. Talk about fashion, fabrics, talk about creatives, talk about arts, crafts, talk about music, dance, the things that bring us together. We also have people, hospitable people, great storytellers, great content creators. Some of them are old, you know, villagers that don’t even find a place in the world,” Kereng said.

She bemoaned the meagre contribution of tourism to the GDP in a lot of African countries, stressing the only way to enhance this capacity was by raising economic performance by creating narratives that change the mindsets, determining the economic value of culture and improving flight connectivity to facilitate business among African countries instead of going through Europe.

 The Road Ahead

 The discussions at AFTCREE 2025 signal a shift in Africa’s development narrative. For decades, the continent’s economic discourse revolved around extractive industries—oil, minerals, and agriculture. But today, the conversation is evolving toward a model rooted in creativity, innovation, and cultural confidence.

 Transforming culture into capital, however, will require more than inspiration. It demands data, coordination, and political will. The CultourMetre may well become the first instrument to hold African countries accountable for progress in this new frontier.

 As Minister Musawa put it, “Africa’s comparative advantage lies not only in our natural resources but in the creativity, resilience, and ingenuity of our people.”

 The message from the Expo was unmistakable: Africa’s cultural and creative economy is not a luxury—it is a strategy. If the continent sustains this momentum, creativity could soon become its most valuable export, reshaping not just how the world sees Africa, but how Africa sees itself.