LAGOS, NIGERIA, November 2025
The inaugural Entertainment Week Africa (EWA) wrapped its first edition this November after transforming Lagos into a multi-venue hub of creative-economy ambition. Held from 18 to 23 November, the six-day festival attracted 28,683 attendees from more than eight countries and over 50 industries, establishing itself as one of the most significant new cultural events on the African continent.
Spread across Livespot Entertarium, Eko Hotel, EbonyLife Place, Alliance Française, and Heritage Place, the festival’s first edition did more than debut a new platform, it confirmed Lagos’ growing reputation as a global crossroads for talent, innovation, and investment.
A Blueprint for Creative Mobility
The theme of the year, “Close the Gap,” shaped the entire experience. Livespot360 Managing Director Tiwa Medubi explained the intention behind the framework:
“We set out to bring talent, capital, policy and platforms into the same room, not in theory, but in practice.”
Across more than 35 panels, 22 workshops, 20 masterclasses, and 93 film screenings, EWA explored issues such as creative entrepreneurship, distribution, youth culture, emerging technology, and cross-border mobility. The turnout reflected the festival’s scope, with the highest participation coming from entertainment, creators, advertising, music, technology, media, marketing, film, consulting, and design.
Diplomacy Met Culture on Opening Night
The Opening Night set the tone, welcoming a mix of cultural and political figures.
British Deputy High Commissioner Johnny Baxter highlighted the festival’s broader significance, saying:
“Entertainment Week Africa represented a week of celebration, partnership and progress. By Closing The Gap, we’re creating highways for ideas, talent and investments to flow freely between Nigeria and the UK.”
Prominent attendees included HE Olufolake Abdulrazaq, First Lady of Kwara State, Toke Benson Awoyinka, Lagos Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, and Jumoke Oduwole, Minister of Trade and Investment.
A Cultural Laboratory for Creators
EWA developed into a hands-on ecosystem for creators.
The Story Lab, a four-day intensive programme supported by Netflix, Amazon Prime, NdaniTV and Africa Magic, selected eight finalists from an initial group of fifteen emerging writers. The participants worked with Lani Aisida, Nicole Asinugo, and Dami Elebe, producing six polished story concepts ready for pitching.
Festivalgoers moved fluidly through the Creators Hub, Creative Job Fair, Gen Z Republic, and the EWA Creative Marketplace, all designed to accelerate collaboration and opportunity.
On the film side, audiences gravitated toward standout screenings including Chronicles of Afrobeat, The Herd, Dust to Dream, and Mama Nike & Magazine Dreams, each accompanied by well-attended filmmaker Q&As.
The Deal Room Delivered Capital and Confidence
The festival’s Deal Room brought the “Close the Gap” mandate to life. Out of 178 plus startup entries, nine companies advanced to the accelerator phase, and four—Aktivate, FriendnPal, Growwr, and Sports Reels—were deemed fully investor-ready.
For many entrepreneurs, this marked their first opportunity to pitch directly to investors, with support from Future Africa, Askya Investment Partners, Catalyst Fund, Consonance Invest and others.
In parallel, a two-day Hackathon selected ten teams to build and refine new digital solutions. Three companies, Musetter (music tech), Owambe (fashion tech), and Alaba (music tech), stood out for their innovation and rapid development.
Women in Entertainment Took the Spotlight
A major highlight of the week was the powerful gender-equity conversation featuring Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade, Waje, Sasha P, Teni, and Qing Madi.
Tiwa Savage delivered one of the week’s defining statements:
“Out of the top 100 songs in Nigeria on Apple Music, there’s only one by a woman. The gap is too wide.”
Music executive Don Jazzy reinforced the point, saying:
“We’re too masculine, it affects the numbers, the airplay, the clubs.”
Fashion, Comedy, and Cultural Celebration
Fashion played a central role, with 120 plus entries and 10 emerging designers showcasing bold new identities on the Runway Coterie stage. Designers including Korede James, Dust of the Earth, Nex by Necca, Josh Amor, PK Crochet, and Sevon Dejana presented future-facing visions of African style.
The festival’s cultural offering expanded into comedy with Jokes and Jollof, where Big Spoon 2025 winner Lucky Chidiebere Obi took home a ₦1 million prize and secured a tour with Basketmouth.
An Ambitious First Step Toward the Future
EWA 2025 was made possible through a wide coalition of partners including Livespot, MTN, Pepsi, Heineken, Netflix, Multichoice, British High Commission, US Embassy, Empire, ONErpm, Virgin Music, Chocolate City, Showmax, and many more.
Founder Deola Art Alade framed the event as the beginning of a long-term cultural investment:
“Our ambition is for Entertainment Week Africa to become a critical part of the economic, intellectual and artistic capital of this great city.”
With over 800 million digital impressions worldwide, the festival’s debut resonated far beyond Lagos. EWA will return 17 to 22 November 2026, with an expanded mission to continue Closing the Gap across the continent’s creative industries.
