Nigeria has unveiled the Afrocentric Cultural Expo 2026, a 10-day Pan-African cultural and economic platform featuring 12 signature events and projected to inject more than N200 million into the local economy.
The Expo, scheduled for November 7 to 18 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Complex, Abuja, is designed to promote Africa’s cultural heritage, expand opportunities for creatives and businesses, attract investment and strengthen Nigeria’s position as a hub for African culture and enterprise.
The Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, disclosed this in a message delivered at the formal unveiling of the Expo in Abuja.
Represented by her Special Adviser on Job Creation, Jemma Amachree, Musawa said the initiative was more than a cultural festival, describing it as an economic platform capable of stimulating the creative economy and creating lasting opportunities across the sector.
She said the Expo would provide more than 1,000 exhibition booths for vendors, entrepreneurs and large-scale enterprises, while bringing together music, film, fashion, food, business, investment and other cultural activities.
According to her, Africa’s art, fashion, music, film and culinary heritage had enriched the global stage for decades, but the economic value generated from the continent’s creativity had not always reached the people creating the wealth.
She said the time had come for Africa to build a stronger economy around its cultural and creative assets.
“The time has come for our culture to be valued not only as heritage but also as an economic asset,” she said.
Musawa said the Expo could redefine how the world saw, experienced and engaged with Africa, while providing a platform for the continent to reclaim its narrative and derive greater economic value from its cultural resources.
“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 said.
She said the Expo would feature an Afrocentric Music Festival, Film Festival, high-fashion exhibition and global business and investment forum, among other programmes.
The minister said the event would also connect Africans in the diaspora across the Americas, Caribbean, Europe and Asia with opportunities on the continent.
She added that the programme could rival the historic grandeur of FESTAC ’77, with activities celebrating African culture, intellect, enterprise and youth.
Other programmes, she said, would include university debates, heritage awards and youth-focused activities, including a continental football tournament.
Musawa also called for greater global attention to Africa’s tourism destinations, noting that the continent’s creative industries could become stronger drivers of jobs, investment, innovation and sustainable development.
She said the Federal Ministry recognised that an initiative of such magnitude required collaboration between governments, the private sector and international partners.
“Our ambition is not simply to organise an event, but to build an institutional platform with lasting economic and cultural impact,” she said.
The minister called on Nigerians, Africans, members of the diaspora, investors, businesses and other stakeholders to participate in the Expo, describing it as a platform through which the world could experience Africa and discover Nigeria.
Earlier, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce-USA (NICOCUSA), Gregory Uche Ihenacho, said the Expo was conceived as a Pan-African project to unite Africans and the diaspora while creating economic, business and investment opportunities.
Ihenacho said the project was conceived about eight years ago in Los Angeles, United States, and had since evolved into a major platform for promoting African culture and enterprise.
“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.
He said 12 major events would run across the 10-day programme, with Nigeria hosting the inaugural edition before the Expo expands to other African countries.
According to him, the organisers are working to position Nigeria as a global cultural authority through its arts, fashion, music, food and creative industries.
He said the Expo would also help change negative perceptions about Nigeria by showcasing its cultural wealth and creative talents.
Ihenacho cited the international success of Nigerian artistes, particularly Afrobeats stars, as evidence of the country’s growing influence in global popular culture.
He said about 300 artistes had registered for the Afrocentric Music Festival, which would provide a platform for discovering and developing emerging talents.
“We want to discover more talent, the future Davido, the future Burna Boy, and package them not only to entertain us here,” he said.
The Afrocentric Fashion Week, he explained, 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 explore opportunities for cities such as Kaduna to regain their status as textile manufacturing centres.
The African Women Are Gorgeous (AWAG) International programme would celebrate African women who have distinguished themselves in business, politics, economics, academia and other fields.
The Afrocentric Cultural Dance programme would showcase the diversity of African traditional and contemporary dance, while the Afrocentric University Intellectual Debate would bring together universities and students to promote intellectual exchange and demonstrate African academic capacity.
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,” Ihenacho said.
The Afrocentric Food Expo would showcase African cuisine and promote its growing acceptance in international markets.
Ihenacho said Nigerian dishes, including amala, were gaining popularity outside Africa, adding that the food programme would help promote African culinary heritage globally.
The NICOCUSA Business Summit would provide the commercial platform for investment, trade and partnerships.
He said Nigeria’s industrial and commercial base made the country strategically positioned to serve 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 said.
“There is no way in this world that we could carry out this project without collaboration.”
Ihenacho said Nigeria would host the inaugural edition, while plans were underway to expand the Expo to other African countries.
In a goodwill message, Michael Igwe-Kalu, Project Manager, Strategic Marketing Partnership Network (SMPN), pledged support for the initiative, saying the organisation would connect 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 said.
The Expo is organised by NICOCUSA in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Glotrade Company and the Afrocentric Global Expo Organising Committee.
The organisers said the Expo would provide participants with opportunities to connect, collaborate, market, invest and build relationships beyond the event.
The unveiling ceremony ended with the official presentation of the Afrocentric Cultural Expo 2026 logo and a cultural dance performance.