Creatives Connect Afrika returns to Accra for a second edition - what the 2026 forum offers
The AfCFTA-backed creative industries forum and festival returns to Accra from 30 November to 3 December 2026, bringing policymakers, tourism leaders, creatives, investors and entertainment executives together around "entertainment-led tourism". Here is what is planned, and how to take part.
By Ernest · 23 October 2026
This is an industry forum and festival, not a public concert series. Registration, exhibition and partnership applications are open on the official Creatives Connect Afrika site - check the programme there before planning travel around it.
What is planned
Creatives Connect Afrika - officially the AfCFTA Tourism, Creatives and Cultural Industries Forum and Festival - holds its second edition in Accra from 30 November to 3 December 2026, MyJoyOnline reported on 23 October. The official event site confirms the dates and the theme: "Entertainment-Led Tourism: Transforming Pan-African Creative Wealth into Global Economic Influence".
The 2026 edition is planned for the Alisa Hotel at North Ridge in Accra, and is convened by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat in collaboration with Africa Tourism Partners and the Black Star Experience. It is expected to draw policymakers, tourism leaders, creatives, investors, entertainment executives and entrepreneurs from across Africa and the diaspora.
Where the first edition looked at individual creative sectors, this one focuses on how entertainment - music festivals, film, sport, fashion, cultural festivals and digital content - drives travel decisions and shapes how destinations are seen.
Why it matters if you are abroad
Ghana's December season is the working example of entertainment-led tourism: diaspora visitors already time trips home around concerts and festivals, and the Ghana Tourism Authority says more than 150 events are registered for December in GH 2026, running 1 December to 3 January. A forum that puts AfCFTA policymakers in the same room as entertainment executives and investors is where the business side of that season gets built - relevant if you create, promote or invest from abroad.
The timing also helps anyone planning a December trip: the forum closes on 3 December, two days into the December in GH season, so a single trip can cover both.
How to take part
Registration, exhibition and partnership applications are handled on the official Creatives Connect Afrika website, which also carries the programme and speaker announcements as they are confirmed. If you are travelling for it, confirm the venue, dates and programme on the official site before booking - details at this stage come from the organisers.
Sources
[2] Creatives Connect Afrika (official event site): 2026 dates and theme