Olori Atuwatse III, spouse of the Olu of Warri, has challenged African leaders, traders and enterprise executives to prioritise possession, funding and financial advantages within the continent’s inventive trade, lamenting that Africa earns solely about $1 from each $100 generated via international commerce in inventive items.
She stated the continent should transfer past celebrating its cultural affect to making sure that African creators and their communities derive tangible financial advantages from their work.
The Warri Queen spoke on the second day of the Elevate Africa Convening 2026 in Accra, Ghana, the place stakeholders gathered to deliberate on the continent’s management, commerce, cultural affect and growth below the theme, “Africa: Defining Her Future.”
“Our soft power should do more than make the world lean in. It should make the world buy in,” she stated, stressing the necessity for Africans to personal the manufacturers, mental property and business platforms via which their creativity reaches international markets.
She recognized Afrobeats, Nollywood and African style as examples of the continent’s rising international cultural affect, noting that African music attracts audiences worldwide, Nollywood continues to inform African tales to worldwide audiences, whereas indigenous materials characteristic prominently on international style runways.
However, she questioned the financial returns accruing to African creators regardless of the rising worldwide demand for his or her merchandise.
“The rhythm is ours. The colour is ours. Too often, the receipt is made out to someone else,” she stated, asking, “Who owns the label? Who holds the rights? Who takes the profit home?”
She added that Africa should guarantee future generations inherit not solely its cultural traditions but additionally the establishments and enterprise constructions required to generate prosperity from them.
Drawing comparisons with the United States and South Korea, Olori Atuwatse III stated Africa might study from international locations which have efficiently remodeled cultural merchandise into highly effective financial property.
She cited Hollywood, Korean skincare and Korean tv dramas as examples of how cultural affect might stimulate client demand and generate business alternatives.
“We came to believe their stories, and our money followed our belief. That is soft power, and Africa has an abundance of it,” she stated, calling for related methods to strengthen the worldwide attain of Afrobeats, Nollywood and indigenous African materials.
She urged governments, traders and enterprise leaders to develop platforms and enterprise fashions that will allow African creatives to personal, distribute and revenue from their work reasonably than surrendering a lot of the worth to exterior pursuits.
On youth growth, the Olori expressed confidence within the capability of younger Africans to form the continent’s financial future however challenged political and enterprise leaders to match their ambition with ample help.
She noticed that younger folks had been more and more creating alternatives, constructing companies and growing options regardless of restricted entry to assets.
Noting that the median age of Africa’s inhabitants was about 19, she stated the continent’s youthful demographic offered monumental alternatives if correctly harnessed.
“Our young people are moving. Are our institutions moving with them?” she requested, urging leaders to broaden entry to capital and markets whereas creating establishments that enable younger folks to take part meaningfully in decision-making.
She stated the Elevate Africa Fellowship was among the many initiatives working to advance alternatives for younger Africans and referred to as on different establishments to help the trouble.
Olori Atuwatse III additionally referred to as for stronger connections between Africans on the continent and people within the diaspora, together with folks of African descent within the Caribbean, the Americas and different elements of the world.
Referring to discussions on reparatory justice at yesterday’s Presidential Roundtable, she argued that restoring dignity to folks of African descent should embrace confronting destructive perceptions and strengthening relationships inside the international African household.
Citing remarks by former Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim on the lack of dignity related to the transatlantic slave commerce, she stated the results remained seen in institutional practices, know-how and on a regular basis social interactions.
“That loss of dignity was built by a narrative. And what one narrative built, another can rebuild,” she stated, insisting that Africans should start by altering how they understand and relate to at least one one other.
She significantly criticised divisions between Africans on the continent and other people of African descent overseas, warning towards derogatory labels and attitudes that undermine a shared identification.
“When we reject each other, we reject ourselves. But when we accept each other, we accept ourselves. When we elevate each other, we elevate ourselves,” she stated.
The Warri Queen advocated sustained engagement, cultural exchanges and enterprise partnerships as sensible methods to rebuild belief, noting that non-public relationships might problem stereotypes and expose shared experiences.
Recalling the primary Homecoming organised within the Warri Kingdom two months earlier to mark the anniversary of the Olu’s coronation, she stated the initiative had begun creating lasting partnerships between the Kingdom and members of the diaspora.
She additional urged African governments to create an enabling setting for Black traders from the West, drawing inspiration from the historic Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which was destroyed in a racially motivated bloodbath in 1921.
She stated significant funding alternatives might assist construct stronger financial ties and establishments throughout the continent.
The Olori stated Elevate Africa was established to construct bridges between people, international locations and networks, enabling Africans to collectively outline and implement a growth agenda that protects their dignity and advances shared prosperity.
She urged members to look past celebrating African traditions and the worldwide recognition of the continent’s inventive abilities to give attention to possession, funding and sustainable financial returns.
Also talking, Ghana’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Arts, Abla Gomashie, stated the convening was aimed toward constructing a sturdy future for Africa and taking the continent to the subsequent degree.
She stated that for generations, Africa had been portrayed globally as a supply of uncooked supplies, together with cocoa, gold and different minerals, regardless of the worth of its folks and their contributions.
“For generations, the African narrative has been rich in history, but the world looks at our resources through a singular lens, which has culminated in a narrow global perception of Africa as merely a source of raw materials and commodities like cocoa, gold and other minerals,” she stated.
Gomashie stated the gathering ought to present a possibility to alter that notion by recognising the worth of Africa’s folks and investing of their potential.
Other audio system included Nicole Asinugo, a board member of The Osahon Okunbo Foundation (TOOF), Ama Ofeibea Tetteh and Dr Slyleecia Thompson.
Highlights of the convening included the signing of the Accra Declaration by royal majesties and the presentation of a $25,000 cheque to Adekola Emmanuel, winner of the 2026 Thread of Africa.
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