AfCFTA Hosts Roadshow for Creatives Connect Afrika Forum and Festival 2026
Following the success of its inaugural gathering in Accra, Ghana, the organizers of the Creatives Connect Afrika Forum and Festival (CCA) are preparing for an expanded second edition. Spearheaded by the AfCFTA Secretariat alongside Africa Tourism Partners and the Black Star Experience under the Office of the President of Ghana, the platform serves as a strategic bridge between African cultural enterprises, regional markets, and cross-border commercial opportunities.
Ahead of the main gathering scheduled for November 30 to December 3, 2026, in Accra, the leadership team initiated a continental roadshow. The regional tour kicked off in Polokwane, South Africa, on the sidelines of the African Tourism Leadership Forum (ATLF) 2026, engaging institutional leaders, investors, and creators directly.
The core philosophy driving CCA 2026 centers on harnessing the global momentum of African cultural exports—including Afrobeats, Nollywood film productions, fashion, gaming, culinary arts, and sports—to stimulate intra-African leisure travel and destination marketing.
From Ghana’s Year of Return and Detty December festivities to South Africa’s Cape Town International Jazz Festival and Zanzibar’s cultural showcases, music and arts consistently motivate regional travel. The AfCFTA Secretariat emphasizes that CCA 2026 aims to help creative entrepreneurs deliberately convert cultural influence into long-term commercial value, benefiting hotels, transit providers, local retailers, and hospitality supply chains across the continent.
Speaking at the South African engagement, Emily Mburu-Ndoria, Director of Trade in Services, Investment, Intellectual Property Rights and Digital Trade at the AfCFTA Secretariat, highlighted that the roadshow strategy ensures continental stakeholders actively shape the program rather than receiving a finished concept designed strictly in Accra.
She explained that direct dialogue with creators, destination boards, and private investors helps identify real-world trade barriers, IP protection needs, and cross-border investment frameworks. The Polokwane session also featured the official launch of the Country Tourism Factsheet alongside the introduction of the preliminary CCA 2026 schedule to international delegates.
Inside the CCA 2026 Agenda: Masterclasses, Sustainable Village, and Tourism Boards Summit
The four-day program in Accra will begin on November 30, 2026, with practical capacity-building masterclasses designed to equip creative business owners with intellectual property, monetization, and scaling strategies before the formal opening on December 1.
A major structural highlight of the festival is the Sustainable Village of Creative Entrepreneurs—an interactive trade hub where SMEs can showcase innovations, pitch to institutional buyers, and establish distribution deals. Additionally, the event will host the inaugural Meeting of Heads of African Tourism Boards and Authorities, establishing a dedicated institutional platform for continental travel policy, trade integration, and destination collaboration, as championed by Africa Tourism Partners CEO Kwakye Donkor.
