Livespot360 has announced the return of Entertainment Week Africa 2026, also known as EWA 2026, taking place in Lagos, Nigeria, from 17–22 November 2026.
Entertainment Week Africa is one of Africa’s leading creative economy platforms, bringing together creators, founders, investors, executives, policymakers, brands, institutions, students, and cultural leaders across film, television, music, fashion, beauty, technology, live events, production, enterprise, art, and animation.
The 2026 edition marks EWA’s fifth anniversary and will run under the theme “Closing the Gap.” The theme reflects the platform’s mission to connect African creativity to the access it needs to grow: capital, markets, infrastructure, skills, partnerships, distribution, policy support, and global opportunity.
For Livespot360, EWA is a major expression of the company’s work as an integrated creative company building platforms, content, venues, live experiences, scenic production, and talent pipelines for Africa’s creative economy.
What Is Entertainment Week Africa?
Entertainment Week Africa is fast becoming Africa’s leading creative economy conference, market, and cultural platform produced by Livespot360.
The platform is designed for people and organisations working across Africa’s creative and entertainment industries, including filmmakers, musicians, producers, fashion entrepreneurs, beauty founders, animators, artists, creative startups, investors, commissioners, buyers, distributors, policymakers, platforms, brands, and institutions.
Across its first four editions, EWA has convened more than 67,800 cumulative attendees. In 2025 alone, the platform welcomed 28,683 pass-holders from 8+ countries and 50+ industries, with programming across sessions, film screenings, music showcases, fashion showcases, workshops, masterclasses, pitch rooms, markets, and creative experiences.
In 2026, EWA will expand its pan-African reach, targeting participation from 18+ African countries, with 30–40% of delegates expected to travel from outside Nigeria.
Why EWA 2026 Matters for Africa’s Creative Economy
Africa’s creative economy is one of the continent’s most powerful growth engines, but many creative professionals and creative businesses still face the same challenge: access.
Access to funding.
Access to buyers.
Access to distribution.
Access to training.
Access to policy conversations.
Access to global markets.
Access to the right rooms.
EWA 2026 is designed to help close those gaps. The platform connects talent to opportunity, creativity to capital, ideas to execution, and local creative businesses to continental and global markets.
This is why EWA has evolved from a cultural gathering into a creative economy marketplace where business, policy, talent, technology, and culture meet.
A Creative Industry Event in Lagos With Pan-African Reach
Lagos remains one of Africa’s most important creative capitals, with influence across music, film, fashion, live entertainment, digital culture, media, nightlife, entrepreneurship, and youth culture.
By hosting EWA 2026 in Lagos, Livespot is positioning the city as a meeting point for Africa’s creative and entertainment economy.
The fifth anniversary edition will bring together delegates, speakers, investors, creative professionals, founders, buyers, and partners from across Africa and the diaspora.
EWA 2026 is built for anyone asking:
- What are the biggest creative economy events in Africa?
- Where can African creatives meet investors and buyers?
- What creative industry conference is happening in Lagos in 2026?
- How can African creative businesses access funding and markets?
- Where can filmmakers, musicians, designers and creative founders connect with opportunity?
Seven Tracks Across Film, Music, Fashion, Tech and Creative Enterprise
EWA 2026 will convene programming across seven core tracks: Film & TV, Music, Fashion & Beauty, AI & Tech, Art & Animation, Live Events & Production and Creative Enterprise
Each track is designed to create practical outcomes, not just conversations. EWA 2026 will include pitch opportunities, industry sessions, closed-door conversations, showcases, screenings, networking formats, talent development programmes and post-event follow-through.
For Livespot, this track structure reflects the company’s wider view of the creative economy as an interconnected system. Through its connected verticals , Livespot Studios, Livespot Scenic, Livespot Spaces, Livespot Experiences and Livespot Icons, the company continues to build across content, set design, production, venues, live experiences and talent.
EWA Deal Room: Connecting Creative Businesses to Investors
One of EWA’s strongest commercial platforms is the EWA Deal Room, which connects startups, creative businesses and tech-enabled ventures with investors, mentors and ecosystem partners.
In 2025, the EWA Deal Room received 178+ entries, with 9 companies advancing to the accelerator programme and 4 companies attracting live investor interest in the room. Participating companies included Aktivate, FriendnPal, Growwr and Sports Reels.
Investor and ecosystem partners connected to the Deal Room and Hackathon included Future Africa, Catalyst Fund, Consonance Invest and Askya Investment Partners.
For 2026, EWA will deepen its focus on deal flow, capital access and market access through the Deal Room, Content Market, Music Market, EWA Capital Desk, Creators Hub and LABSPOT, the platform’s skills and enterprise development engine.
A Film Market, Music Market and Content Platform for African Creatives
EWA 2026 is also designed to support the business of African content.
Through its Content Market and Music Market, the platform will create opportunities for filmmakers, producers, music executives, artists, managers, distributors, commissioners, buyers and platforms to connect around African intellectual property.
For African creatives looking for a film market, music business platform, content marketplace or industry networking event in Africa, EWA 2026 is being built as a practical space for discovery, deal-making and collaboration.
The goal is to create rooms where African creative work can move from idea to market, from talent to business and from visibility to long-term value.
Livespot Studios to Premiere University of Side Hustle at EWA 2026
A major highlight of EWA 2026 will be the world premiere of University of Side Hustle, the first scripted feature film from Livespot Studios.
Written by Dami Elebe and executive produced by Deola Art Alade, the Lagos-set feature marks a significant step in Livespot360’s expansion into scripted film.
The premiere of University of Side Hustle at EWA 2026 reflects the platform’s evolution. EWA is not only convening Africa’s creative industry; it is also becoming a space where African intellectual property is created, launched, celebrated and connected to audiences.
EWA Creative Connect and Global Access for African Creativity
EWA’s momentum has also extended beyond Lagos through EWA Creative Connect, an invitation-only convening series that connects Africa’s creative economy with global executives, investors, brands, institutions and policymakers.
In 2026, EWA Creative Connect launched in Los Angeles during Grammy Week, convening senior executives and stakeholders from Warner Records, Adobe, Amazon, Dramabox, Afrexim and Unilever.
The series later continued in London during the Nigeria–UK state visit, drawing engagement from the British Film Institute, Diageo, NBO Capital, the Ministry of Trade and Investment, global brands and senior diplomatic figures.
This international extension reinforces EWA’s role as a bridge between African creative talent and global opportunity.