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OLORI Atuwatse III, wife of the Olu of Warri, has challenged African governments, investors and business leaders to take ownership of the continent’s creative economy, lamenting that despite Africa’s growing global influence in music, film and fashion, it earns only about $1 from every $100 generated through international trade in creative goods.
She warned that Africa risked remaining a supplier of cultural products while foreign interests controlled the intellectual property, distribution platforms and commercial structures through which its creativity generated wealth.
Speaking on the second day of the Elevate Africa Convening 2026 in Accra, Ghana, the Warri Queen said the continent must move beyond celebrating the international success of Afrobeats, Nollywood and African fashion to building institutions that would enable creators and their communities to retain a greater share of the economic benefits.
The convening, themed “Africa: Defining Her Future,” brought together political leaders, traditional rulers, investors, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders to deliberate on leadership, trade, cultural influence and sustainable development across the continent.
“Our soft power should do more than make the world lean in. It should make the world buy in,” she declared, stressing that Africa’s cultural influence must translate into ownership of brands, intellectual property, distribution channels and profitable businesses.
Olori Atuwatse III said African music was filling stadiums across the world, Nollywood was taking African stories to international audiences, while indigenous fabrics and designs were increasingly finding expression on global fashion runways.
She, however, questioned how much of the wealth generated by these achievements returned to African creators and their communities.
“The rhythm is ours. The colour is ours. Too often, the receipt is made out to someone else,” she said, asking: “Who owns the label? Who holds the rights? Who takes the profit home?”
According to her, the challenge before African leaders was to ensure that future generations inherited not only the continent’s cultural traditions but also the institutions, businesses and commercial structures necessary to convert creativity into sustainable prosperity.
Drawing comparisons with the United States and South Korea, she said Africa could learn from countries that had successfully transformed cultural influence into economic opportunities, citing Hollywood, Korean skincare products and Korean television dramas as examples of how storytelling, entertainment and national identity could stimulate consumer demand.
“We came to believe their stories, and our money followed our belief. That is soft power, and Africa has an abundance of it.”
She urged governments and investors to develop business models that would enable African musicians, filmmakers, fashion designers and other creative professionals to own, distribute and profit from their work rather than surrendering much of its commercial value to external interests.
Turning to youth development, Olori Atuwatse III said Africa’s youthful population represented a major economic advantage if governments and institutions provided the necessary investment, opportunities and enabling environment.
Noting that the continent’s median age was about 19, she observed that young Africans were already creating businesses, developing solutions and pursuing opportunities despite limited access to capital, markets and institutional support.
“Our young people are moving. Are our institutions moving with them?” she asked, challenging political and business leaders to match the ambition of young Africans with policies and investments that would enable them to realise their potential.
She identified the Elevate Africa Fellowship as one of the initiatives designed to expand opportunities for young people and urged other institutions to support similar programmes.
The Warri Queen also advocated stronger economic, cultural and social connections between Africans on the continent and people of African descent in the Caribbean, the Americas and other parts of the world, stressing that shared heritage should provide a foundation for investment, cooperation and mutual prosperity.
Referring to discussions on reparatory justice at the previous day’s Presidential Roundtable, she argued that restoring the dignity of people of African descent required confronting negative narratives and overcoming divisions within the global African community.
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Citing remarks by former Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim on the loss of dignity associated with the transatlantic slave trade, Olori Atuwatse III said the consequences remained evident in institutional practices, technology and everyday social relationships.
“That loss of dignity was built by a narrative. And what one narrative built, another can rebuild,” she said, insisting that Africans must begin by changing how they perceived and related to one another.
She particularly criticised derogatory attitudes between Africans living on the continent and those in the diaspora, warning that such divisions weakened the collective identity and economic potential of people of African descent.
“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 declared.
Olori Atuwatse III called for sustained engagement, cultural exchanges and business partnerships to rebuild trust, challenge stereotypes and strengthen relationships across the global African community.
Recalling the first Homecoming organised in the Warri Kingdom two months earlier to commemorate the anniversary of the Olu’s coronation, she said the initiative had begun creating lasting partnerships between the kingdom and members of the diaspora.
She also urged African governments to create an enabling environment for Black investors from Western countries, drawing inspiration from the historic Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which was destroyed during a racially motivated massacre in 1921.
According to her, deliberate efforts to attract diaspora investment, strengthen commercial relationships and establish enduring institutions would help Africans build economic structures capable of generating shared prosperity.
The Olori explained that Elevate Africa was established to build bridges among individuals, countries and networks, enabling Africans to collectively define and implement a development agenda that would protect their dignity and advance their economic interests.
She urged participants to look beyond the celebration of African traditions and the global recognition of African talent to the more fundamental questions of ownership, investment and sustainable economic returns.
“That is the future we have gathered here to define,” she said.
Also speaking, Ghana’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Arts, Abla Gomashie, called for a change in the global perception of Africa from a continent primarily valued for its raw materials to one recognised for the creativity, knowledge and enterprise of its people.
She said the gathering provided an opportunity for African leaders and stakeholders to develop a shared vision for the continent’s future and unlock opportunities beyond traditional commodity exports.
“For generations African narrative has been rich in history but the world looks at our resources through a singular len which has culminated into a narrow global perception of Africa as merely a source of raw material in commodity like cocoa, gold and other mineral,” she said.
The minister maintained that Africa’s greatest resources were not merely the minerals and agricultural commodities beneath its soil but the talents, creativity and productive capacity of its people.
She urged participants to use the convening to advance a new development narrative centred on human capital, innovation and sustainable economic opportunities.
Other speakers at the event included board member of The Osahon Okunbo Foundation (TOOF), Nicole Asinugo; Ama Ofeibea Tetteh; and Dr Slyleecia Thompson, among others.
A major highlight of the convening was the signing of the Accra Declaration by participating royal dignitaries and the presentation of a $25,000 cheque to Adekola Emmanuel, winner of the 2026 Thread of Africa competition.
