African music, film, fashion and digital culture must generate greater ownership, income and institutional power for the people creating them, speakers at Elevate Africa’s annual convening in Accra have said.
From global influence to economic control
The second day of the 2026 Elevate Africa Annual Convening, held in Accra on 29 October, focused on the creative economy, youth and the African diaspora. The gathering brought together leaders, creators and investors under the wider theme, “Africa: Defining Her Future”.
DGBN has also reported on Olori Atuwatse III Urges Africa to Own Its Creative Economy.
Olori Atuwatse III, Queen Consort of Nigeria’s Warri Kingdom and co-founder of Elevate Africa, said the continent’s cultural influence should be converted into durable economic returns. Pointing to Afrobeats, Nollywood and kente, she called for systems that enable Africans to retain ownership of their work, distribute it widely and benefit fairly from its success.
Her intervention placed intellectual property, market access and finance at the centre of the debate. She also urged institutions to treat young Africans as current decision-makers and entrepreneurs, rather than simply a future workforce.
Ghana presses for stronger protections
Ghana’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, said African cultural output cannot remain merely a source of international admiration or soft power. She argued that music, film, fashion, theatre, crafts and digital content should become strategic tools for continental wealth creation and economic integration.
For more context, read DGBN’s coverage of Warri Queen Calls for African Ownership of Creative Economy Value.
The minister called for stronger copyright and intellectual property mechanisms so that income from the global circulation of African work reaches the creators and communities behind it. Ghana’s culture ministry confirms that Gomashie leads the portfolio, which has increasingly emphasised the creative sector’s contribution to growth and employment.
She also announced plans for the inaugural African Festival of Arts, Culture, and Creativity, known as FESTA 2026, in Accra from 9 to 12 December, in collaboration with AUDA-NEPAD. According to APAnews, the event is intended to convene policymakers, investors, African Union member states and diaspora representatives around investment, innovation and jobs for young people and women.
Diaspora as partners, not just remitters
A key message from the convening was that diaspora engagement must reach beyond remittances. Olori Atuwatse III called for investment, professional exchanges and partnerships between the continent and African-descended communities abroad.
That matters for Black communities globally because African cultural production already shapes international popular culture. The sharper question is who owns the rights, controls distribution, builds companies and receives the revenue when those ideas travel.
Elevate Africa’s published programme positioned the creative economy alongside trade, governance, youth opportunity and diaspora participation. Its sessions included a discussion on moving African music, film, fashion and digital content from soft power to commercial value.
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For creators, the agenda points to a bigger fight than visibility: building the legal protections, financing pipelines and cross-border markets that allow African talent to turn cultural influence into intergenerational wealth.