On Friday, January 30th, during GRAMMY® Week in Los Angeles, we hosted the first-ever Creative Connect for Entertainment Week Africa, a private convening designed to bring global decision-makers into direct engagement with Africa’s rapidly expanding creative economy.
The gathering brought together a carefully curated group of investors, cultural leaders, strategic backers, and distributors shaping the future of entertainment and cultural exchange between Africa and the world. The focus of Creative Connect is connection, alignment, and long-term partnership. It is a space where African creative leaders can explore sustainable infrastructure, system-building, and value retention across the continent.
Africa’s creative sector is one of the fastest-growing economic drivers on the continent. Music, film, fashion, and digital content from Africa shape global culture, influence audiences worldwide, and drive significant economic impact. Yet structural gaps remain between creative output, access to capital, global partnerships, and ownership. Creative Connect is part of Entertainment Week Africa 2026, themed Closing the Gap, a multi-year initiative to address these gaps. The aim is to ensure African talent converts global visibility into durable cultural and economic value.
The event was intentionally intimate and off-record, creating a space for senior-level engagement where strategic conversations could occur freely. Participants included Shawnae Corbett, SVP of Marketing at Warner Records; Don Jazzy, Founder of Mavin Records; Tega Oghenejobo, CEO of Mavin Records; Bose Ogulu, manager of Burna Boy; and other cultural and industry leaders. Discussions focused on partnerships, equity, capital deployment, talent development pipelines, and systems that allow creativity to scale sustainably.
Deola Art Alade, Co-Founder of Entertainment Week Africa and Group CEO of Livespot360, explained the intent of Creative Connect:
“Creative Connect brings global power players together with Africa’s creative leadership to explore how partnerships can deliver long-term value. It is about moving beyond visibility and toward infrastructure that strengthens the continent’s creative economy.”
Darey Art Alade, Co-Founder of Entertainment Week Africa and Chief Creative Officer at Livespot360, emphasized:
“Africa’s creative industries are thriving, but leadership requires alignment. This gathering created space for decision-makers to engage with African creators strategically, shaping both cultural impact and sustainable business models.”
Creative Connect represents a critical step in Closing the Gap 2026, connecting African talent to capital, knowledge, and partnerships while advancing systems that capture value locally. Los Angeles marked a milestone in this work. The next phase continues on the continent, where Creative Connect will translate conversations into infrastructure, partnerships, and actionable opportunities that allow Africa’s creative economy to grow with authority and permanence.