An intra-African event, Africa Connected Through Trade, Talent & Culture Festival, is targeting the empowerment of 1.5 million youths in entrepreneurship, arts and sports, while facilitating over $5bn in trade deals and partnerships across Africa, the organisers have said.
Organisers, speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Thursday, ahead of the maiden edition of ACFTA Fest, noted that the three-day Pan-African festival aims to drive intra-African trade and economic integration by expanding grassroots awareness of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area and positioning youths and creatives as key drivers of growth.
The festival is scheduled to be held in Abuja from March 26 to 28, 2026. The Project Lead of ACFTA Fest, Mandi Anyangwe, said the initiative was designed to unlock youth-led enterprise and scale cross-border trade under AfCFTA.
“The festival is designed to strengthen intra-African trade and promote Africa as a single integrated market, while empowering 1.5 million youths in entrepreneurship, arts, and sports and facilitating over $5bn in trade deals and partnerships across the continent,” Anyangwe said.
She added that ACFTA Fest would deepen awareness of AfCFTA at the grassroots level to ensure wider participation, noting that the project deliberately targets young people, creatives, and innovators who are often excluded from continental trade conversations.
Also, the former Cameroon international footballer, Eyong Enoh, described the festival as a platform for unlocking Africa’s collective potential through collaboration and inclusion.
“This festival is about removing limitations and fostering unity across Africa, with inclusive innovation and collective action required to drive meaningful transition,” Enoh said.
Meanwhile, a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Desmond Elliot, said the festival aligns culture with commerce, stressing that African youths must be central to telling the continent’s stories and shaping its economic future.
“Africans are best positioned to tell their own stories and preserve their culture, and this kind of collaborative platform can create the enabling environment needed for youth-driven development,” Elliot noted.
The organisers said ACFTA Fest would serve as a continental marketplace showcasing businesses, culture, and trade opportunities, while connecting entrepreneurs with investors through exhibitions, workshops, cultural displays, creative performances, and networking sessions.
They added that the festival would also celebrate African heritage and football legends as part of a broader strategy to blend trade, talent, and culture in advancing AfCFTA objectives and youth participation across the continent.
