By Onyekachi Victoria Philip
Business may bring people into the same room, but culture often gives them a reason to connect which is one of the ideas behind the East-West Africa Amalgamation through Tourism, Trade and Creative Arts, scheduled to hold in Ethiopia from September 15th to 23rd 2026.
While the programme will feature investment forums, business matchmaking and government engagements, it will also create a stage for something equally powerful which is the African culture and creative expression.
From music and fashion to traditional performances, heritage and cultural experiences, the East-West Africa Amalgamation will bring different parts of Africa into conversation through the things that often connect people beyond language and borders.
The programme will feature cultural showcases involving participating countries, including Ethiopian, Nigerian, Kenyan and Ghanaian expressions.
One of the major cultural moments will take place in Soddo, where music and fashion performances will bring together Nigeria and Ethiopia, Kenya and Ethiopia, as well as Ghana and Ethiopia as part of the Gifata celebration activities.
But beyond the performances lies a bigger idea which is the emerging fact that Africa is home to thousands of languages and ethnic groups. Yet music can be understood without translation. Fashion can tell the story of a people without a speech. Dance can carry history from one generation to another.
This makes creative arts one of the strongest tools for building connections across the continent.
For the East-West Africa Amalgamation, culture is therefore not being placed at the end of the programme simply for entertainment.It is part of the connection.
For example, a Nigerian fashion designer may discover Ethiopian textile traditions. An Ethiopian performer may connect with audiences from West Africa. A Ghanaian creative may find opportunities for collaboration with a Kenyan counterpart.
Those encounters can create relationships that extend beyond the stage.
The growing influence of African music, fashion, film and other creative industries has also made culture an important part of Africa’s economic conversation.
Creative expression can create jobs.
It can attract tourists.
It can build international interest.
And it can open new markets for African talent.
By bringing creative arts into the East-West Africa Amalgamation, we are expanding the idea of African integration beyond trade agreements and boardroom conversations.
That is the cultural conversation expected to unfold when East and West Africa meet in Ethiopia this September.
The East–West Africa Amalgamation through Tourism, Trade and Creative Arts will take place from September 15–23, 2026, across Addis Ababa and Wolaita Soddo, Ethiopia.
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