Building Sustainable Infrastructure
for Africa’s Creative Economies
27–28 August 2026
Introduction
Africa Creatives Alliance (ACA) is built on a Pan-African network of partners and members dedicated to empowering and advancing the creative economy across the continent. Through strategic collaboration, ACA connects, equips, and supports Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) to unlock their full potential. Our work is anchored in four strategic pillars, each reinforcing a mission to build a dynamic and well-financed creative ecosystem that improves access to capital, scales creative enterprises, and drives long-term sustainability and economic transformation.
The Alliance recognizes creative intermediaries such as hubs, accelerators, incubators, and makerspaces as critical cornerstones and scalable enablers of Africa’s creative economy, serving as vital conduits for nurturing talent, facilitating production, enabling commercialization, and connecting creatives to markets, mentorship, and investment opportunities. Through these intermediaries, we seek to activate support at scale, strengthening their business models, promoting best practices, and cultivating enabling environments underpinned by favorable regulation and sustained investment.
Africa Creative
Economy Lens (ACEL)
The Africa Creative Economy Lens (ACEL) is the flagship convening of the Africa Creatives Alliance (ACA) and Africa’s premier platform for shaping the continent’s creative and cultural future. Conceived as a strategic marketplace of ideas, investment, and collaboration, ACEL brings together policymakers, creative intermediaries, investors, and industry leaders to unlock the full potential of Africa’s creative economy.
More than a convening, ACEL is a co-creation platform—a dynamic space where actionable insights, knowledge products, and solution frameworks are collaboratively developed to address the sector’s most pressing challenges. These outcomes move beyond dialogue, informing policy decisions, program design, and investment priorities across the creative value chain.
ACEL is designed to shift the creative sector from fragmented activity to integrated, investable ecosystems that generate jobs, drive exports, and foster sustainable growth. Through its forums, showcases, and collaborative labs, ACEL enables evidence-based policymaking, strengthens cross-border partnerships, and amplifies African creative excellence on the global stage.
The Journey
Addis Ababa
Launch with the African Union
- Alliance Launched
- Moonshot Report
Kigali
From Declaration to Action
- 200+ Leaders Convened
- 20+ Countries Represented
- Creative Economy Action Paper
- Investment Safe Label Pilot
Building Sustainable Infrastructure
The 2026 edition will include the following tracks
Policy Infrastructure
Advancing coherent creative economy policies that support regulation, IP protection, trade, and investment. This track builds ACEL outcomes and ACA knowledge products to align governments, regional bodies, and industry on frameworks that enable scale, cross-border collaboration, and long-term sector growth.
Physical Infrastructure
Strengthening the spaces that enable creative production, distribution, and collaboration. This track focuses on hubs, studios, venues, makerspaces, and cultural districts as economic assets that support jobs, enterprise growth, and market access across the creative value chain.
Digital Economy Infrastructure
Unlocking digital systems that power creation, monetization, and access to global markets. This track addresses platforms, digital rights management, data, fintech, and emerging technologies that allow African creatives and intermediaries to operate competitively within the continental and global digital economy.
Title & Event Sponsorship:
Position your brand as a leading supporter of ACEL 2026, gaining prominent visibility across the event, media coverage, and official publications.
Strategic Co-Creation
Collaborate on co-creation labs, workshops, and policy dialogues.
Side Events
Host a side event at ACEL 2026 to position your organization as a thought leader.
Data & Insights Access
Access to reports, research outputs, and participant insights.
Thought Leadership
Showcase your expertise by participating in high-profile panels.
Innovation Showcases
Connect directly with top creative entrepreneurs and start-ups.
Ecosystem Branding
Gain recognition across ACEL 2026's digital and physical channels.
Sponsorship Packages
Select a tier to view benefits and positioning
Anchor Partner
Exclusive, headline partner with the highest visibility.