By Onyekachi Victoria Philip
For millions of Africans living outside the continent, Africa is more than a place on the map. It is home, heritage and a connection that can be strengthened through meaningful experiences and opportunities.
This is one of the ideas behind the East-West Africa Amalgamation through Tourism, Trade and Creative Arts, scheduled for September 15-23, 2026, in Addis Ababa and Wolaita Soddo, Ethiopia.
The initiative is not only about bringing Africans from different regions together. It also fits into the wider vision of using tourism, culture, business and investment to reconnect Africans and people of African descent with the continent.
Through Motherland Beckons and IPADA Initiatives, tourism is being presented as a way to create a stronger relationship between Africa and its diaspora. That relationship can go beyond visiting Africa for holidays to discovering business opportunities, investing in destinations, supporting local enterprises and building long-term partnerships.
The East–West Amalgamation provides another opportunity to develop this conversation.
With Guests expected from countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia and Kenya, the programme creates a space where people can experience different African markets while also meeting business owners, investors, government representatives and cultural players.
For someone in the diaspora, such connections can provide a clearer understanding of what is happening on the continent and where opportunities exist.
Tourism can be the first point of contact.
A visitor may come to experience Ethiopia’s culture and heritage, meet entrepreneurs, discover investment opportunities and eventually develop a business relationship. In the same way, Africans from East Africa can explore opportunities in West Africa and vice versa.
This is where the idea of Motherland becomes more than a name.It becomes a call to reconnect with Africa not only emotionally, but economically and culturally.
The September programme therefore creates an opportunity to ask an important question: What happens when Africans and the diaspora stop seeing the continent only as a place to visit and begin seeing it as a place to connect, invest, build and grow?
The answer may lie in the relationships created during the Amalgamation and, more importantly, in what guests do with those relationships after returning home.
The East-West Africa Amalgamation is scheduled for September 15–23, 2026, across Addis Ababa and Wolaita Soddo, Ethiopia.