The first-ever Entertainment Week Africa (EWA) concluded its maiden edition with a groundbreaking six-day, multi-venue festival that showcased Lagos as one of the fastest rising global hubs for creative-economy innovation. Organized by Livespot360, the event brought together thousands of creators, executives, investors, policymakers and industry leaders across Africa and beyond.
Held across multiple venues—Livespot Entertarium, Eko Hotel, EbonyLife Place, Alliance Française, and Heritage Place—the festival laid a strong foundation for pan-African collaboration, cultural exchange, and creative mobility.
Record-Breaking Participation
EWA 2025 recorded impressive numbers across all categories:
- 28,683 attendees from 8+ countries and 50+ industries
- 150+ speakers, 61 sessions, 93 film screenings, 20 music showcases, 9 fashion showcases
- 9 tech startups in the Deal Room, 10 Hackathon teams, and multiple Soundlab creators
- 5 million+ online engagements and 800 million+ digital impressions across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America
Notable attendees included:
Minister of Trade & Investment Jumoke Oduwole, British Deputy High Commissioner Johnny Baxter, First Lady of Kwara State Olufolake Abdulrazaq, Tiwa Savage, Don Jazzy, Yemi Alade, Waje, and other cultural influencers.
Lagos State’s Commissioner for Culture and Tourism praised the event for showing “what’s possible when passionate voices from across the creative industries are brought together.”
Theme: “Close the Gap”
This year’s theme centered on aligning talent, capital, policy, and platforms in one holistic ecosystem.
Livespot360 MD Tiwa Medubi noted:
“Across labs, panels, showcases and performances, one thing was clear: the gap between potential and reality is closing because people are doing the work.”
Global and Pan-African Engagement
The top countries represented were Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Kenya, and the UK.
The highest attendance came from the entertainment, advertising, music, tech, media, filmmaking, PR, business consulting, and design sectors.
British Deputy High Commissioner Baxter highlighted EWA’s economic and diplomatic value, calling it “a celebration of partnership and progress” that’s building “highways for ideas, talent and investment.”
Conference, Screenings & Creative Programming
EWA delivered an extensive lineup:
- 35+ panel discussions
- 22 workshops
- 20 masterclasses
- 93 film screenings, including Chronicles of Afrobeat, The Herd, Dust to Dream, Mama Nike & Magazine Dreams
- High-demand director Q&A sessions
Creators engaged through the Creators Hub, Creative Job Fair, Gen Z Republic, and Creative Marketplace.
Story Lab, Deal Room & Hackathon
A 4-day Story Lab, supported by Netflix, Amazon Prime, NdaniTV and Africa Magic, trained emerging writers.
From 15 shortlisted creatives, 8 participants developed 6 pitch-ready story concepts.
The Deal Room received 178+ startup entries, with 9 companies selected. Four—Aktivate, FriendnPal, Growwr and Sports Reels—were tagged “ready to scale,” attracting active investor interest.
The Hackathon produced three standout teams:
Musetter (Music Tech), Owambe (Fashion Tech) and Alaba (Music Tech).
Investors included Future Africa, Askya Investment Partners, Catalyst Fund, and Consonance Invest.
Gender Equity in Focus
A major conversation featuring Yemi Alade, Waje, Teni, Qing Madi, Sasha P, and Tiwa Savage spotlighted the underrepresentation of women in African music.
Tiwa Savage noted: “Out of the top 100 songs in Nigeria, only one is by a woman… The gap is too wide.”
Don Jazzy added: “We’re too masculine. It affects the numbers, the airplay, the clubs.”
Fashion, Culture & Live Experiences
With 120+ entries, 10 emerging designers showcased on the EWA Runway Coterie, including Korede James, Dust of the Earth, Nex by Necca, Josh Amor, PK Crochet, Estaz, David Black, Bernard Samuel and Sevon Dejana.
The festival also hosted vibrant cultural programs such as Jokes & Jollof, where Lucky Chidiebere Obi (winner of Big Spoon 2025) won ₦1 million and announced a tour with Basketmouth.
Partnership Ecosystem
EWA 2025 was supported by major sponsors and partners across content, tech, venues, media and industry, including:
Livespot, Heineken, Lagos State Tourism, Pepsi, MTN, TikTok, British High Commission, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Africa Magic, ONErpm, Virgin Music, Choc City, and Rollingstone Africa, among others.
Looking Ahead: EWA 2026
Founder Deola Art Alade stated that EWA aims to become “a critical part of the economic, intellectual and artistic capital” of Lagos.
The festival returns 17–22 November 2026, themed “Closing the Gap.”
Registration is already open on the official website.
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