Blackstar Experience partners AfCFTA, ATP to host Creatives Connect Afrika in November

Ghana will host the maiden edition of Creatives Connect Afrika from 25th to 30th November 2025 at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra.

The event, which forms part of the Blackstar Experience initiative, is being organised in partnership with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and Africa Tourism Partners (ATP).

It was officially launched on 22nd August 2025 at the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra.

The programme is expected to bring together participants from across Africa’s tourism, culture and creative arts sectors.

Key figures present at the launch included Emily Mburu-Ndoria, Director of Trade in Services, Investment, Intellectual Property Rights and Digital Trade at the AfCFTA Secretariat; Francis Doku, West Africa Representative for ATP, Rex Owusu Marfo, Coordinator of the Black Star Experience; and the MC, Samuel Agyemang, a broadcaster.

Ghana has secured the right to host the event for three years, after which it will rotate to another African country.

The objectives of Creatives Connect Afrika include advancing continental integration in the creative and cultural industries, promoting intra-African collaboration and trade in film, music and fashion, building capacity for industry growth by equipping creatives and entrepreneurs with skills and tools to leverage AfCFTA opportunities, identifying and addressing barriers to trade in these sectors, facilitating business partnerships and co-productions, strengthening private sector collaboration, and celebrating Africa’s rich heritage through the arts.

According to organisers, Creatives Connect Afrika builds on the success of the AfCFTA Tourism, Creative and Cultural Industries Forum, which has been held in Gaborone, Botswana over the past three years under the African Tourism Leadership Forum. The new platform expands its scope to integrate tourism with the wider creative and cultural industries.

Highlights of the programme will include masterclasses in film, music and fashion, with sessions focusing on trade rules, market access, intra-African opportunities, content development, financing, production, distribution, and the regulatory environment for creative industries.

Other areas of focus will be visa and mobility challenges, the role of creatives in driving intra-African trade, storytelling, cultural diplomacy, creative infrastructure, emerging technologies, the gig economy and financing for the tourism, cultural and creative sectors.

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