A Call to Shared Leadership Towards 2035: Africa’s Business Events Roadmap
The continent’s MICE sector isn’t just growing — it’s getting organized. And it’s time for leaders to step up.
It wasn’t a summit. It wasn’t a conference. It was a call to action — and it came from an unlikely but powerful source: Niche Partners and The Business Tourism Company, who recently convened the inaugural Power Africa 2035 Executive Forum. Bringing together CEOs, ambassadors, and senior public sector leaders from ten African nations — Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Morocco, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Côte d’Ivoire — the Forum marked the first time the continent’s business events sector rallied around a single, measurable 2035 vision.
The stakes? Nothing less than Africa’s place in the $1.15 trillion global MICE market — where, today, the continent captures a mere 2–3%. The target? 10% by 2035 — with a deliberate focus on scaling trade and investment exhibitions across energy, infrastructure, agriculture, technology, logistics, and mining.
Why This Isn’t Just Another Industry Gathering
This isn’t about filling hotel rooms or counting delegates. It’s about rewriting the economic narrative for African cities and nations — one business event at a time.
As Rick Taylor, CEO of The Business Tourism Company, put it:
“Business events are a strategic driver of trade, investment, innovation, and intra-African collaboration.”
That’s not marketing speak — it’s a recognition that when a tech startup from Lagos meets an investor from Casablanca at a pan-African tech expo, or when an Ethiopian agri-tech firm secures a partnership with a Kenyan logistics provider at a regional trade fair, real economic value is created — value that stays on the continent.
The Roadmap: Five Portfolios, One Mission
The Forum didn’t stop at ambition. It laid out a structured, outcomes-driven roadmap — overseen by the newly formed Africa Coordination Office — with five strategic portfolios designed to turn vision into impact:
- Advocacy & Research — building the data and narrative to shift global perceptions
- Education & Capacity Building — developing the talent pipeline Africa’s MICE sector urgently needs
- Business Events Sector Development — scaling high-impact events across key sectors
- Association Development — strengthening the institutional backbone of the industry
- Funding Partnerships — unlocking capital to fuel growth
As Londi Khumalo, Chief Business Development Officer at Niche Partners, emphasized:
“We are calling on visionary leaders to step forward. Your expertise is needed in one of five strategic portfolios — to turn our 2035 vision into measurable impact.”
This is not a closed-door initiative. It’s an open invitation — to public sector leaders, private sector innovators, event organizers, and investors — to join the Africa Business Events Development Council and help shape the continent’s future.
The Bigger Picture: Business Events as Economic Catalysts
For travelers and destination marketers, this matters. Business events are not just about B2B deals — they’re destination accelerators. The executive who attends a mining conference in Johannesburg may return for a safari in Kruger. The tech investor who visits Nairobi for a startup expo may later choose to relocate their regional HQ there.
Africa’s tourism story has always been compelling. Now, its business events story is ready to be told — loudly, clearly, and collectively.
More Cream Than Coffee covers Africa’s travel, tourism, and destination landscape through the lens of those who know it best. Follow our coverage in Travels & Thrills magazine — available quarterly.
