Lagos Partners African Cultural Festival to Deepen Diaspora Ties, Showcase Creative Economy

In a significant move to strengthen diaspora engagement and elevate Africa’s cultural capital on the world stage, the Lagos State Government has announced a strategic partnership with the 2025 African Cultural Festival, an international event designed to spotlight African heritage through arts, enterprise, and cross-continental collaboration.

The festival, themed “Africa to the World: Culture, Creativity, and Collaboration,” is spearheaded by ACI Entertainment, with operations in both Lagos and Pennsylvania. This year’s edition will kick off with a series of countdown events across Lagos in July, culminating in a two-day celebration in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on September 19 and 20, 2025.

According to Mr. Idris Aregbe, Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tourism, Arts and Culture, the partnership reflects the state’s commitment to cultural diplomacy, economic diversification, and diaspora inclusion—all of which align with the Sanwo-Olu administration’s THEMES+ agenda

“This festival is not just a celebration of our cultural identity, it’s a platform for global relevance, economic opportunity, and stronger ties with Africans in the diaspora,” Aregbe said in an official statement.

He added that a Lagos delegation of creatives, innovators, and entrepreneurs will attend the event in the U.S., with the goal of promoting investment, storytelling, and the export of African creative content.

The festival will feature key diaspora-centric events including:

• Africa Arise Leadership Summit

• ACF Marketplace

• African Diaspora Summit

• NextGen Connect Youth Forum

• African I-D-E-N-T-I-T-Y Exhibition, a visual and narrative showcase of African heritage

• Celebrating African Elders, which will honour cultural icons such as Nike Okundaye of the Nike Art Gallery and Miss Phipps, a U.S.-based African heritage ambassador

A major innovation to be unveiled at the festival is Duduplugs, a new platform designed to connect Africa’s creative industries with global markets. The initiative is expected to boost tourism and cultural exports, with Lagos positioned as a central node in the African creative economy.

Diaspora communities across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean are expected to participate, with U.S. lawmakers, African-American cultural leaders, and international investors also scheduled to attend.

“This is about building bridges that last,” Aregbe added. “The Africa we envision must be built by Africans everywhere whether on the continent or abroad.”

As Lagos strengthens its role as a cultural capital, the African Cultural Festival offers a timely opportunity for diasporans to reconnect with their roots, invest in the continent’s creative sectors, and shape Africa’s global narrative.