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From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
Former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has given reasons why African governments must reposition Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) as an instrument for driving trade, investment, business partnerships and job creation, rather than treating it primarily as a tourism activity.
The former minister spoke at the just-concluded ninth edition of the Africa MICE Summit in Mombasa, Kenya, with the theme: ‘Building Africa’s MICE Economies.’
The global MICE industry is estimated at about US$1.3 trillion, yet Africa accounts for only about four percent of the enormous market, underscoring the vast opportunity available to the continent.
Delegates from 19 countries attended the two-day event, which was formally opened by the County Executive Council Member, Tourism, Culture and Trade, County of Mombasa, Mohamed Osman Ali.
Mohammed said MICE could become a major economic engine for Africa by bringing investors, buyers, policymakers, experts and businesses together.
“MICE should not be seen simply as people coming to Africa, staying in hotels, eating in restaurants and flying home. MICE is an economic instrument. It can bring investors, buyers, policymakers, experts and businesses into our economies. In other words, MICE can become Africa’s deal-making engine,” Mohammed said.
Mohammed who was a panellist at the event, urged African destinations to build their MICE strategies around their comparative advantages, rather than competing blindly for the same events.
He cited Nigeria’s globally-acclaimed entertainment industry, Kenya’s strength in athletics and tourism, South Africa’s conference industry and Rwanda’s position as a regional business gateway and advocated greater cooperation among African countries, including joint bids for major international events.
While proposing that Africa bid collectively for major global events and share hosting among countries, as Canada, Mexico and the United States did for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Mohammed referenced Lagos as a case study of how local cultural and economic assets can be transformed into major MICE opportunities.
He recalled a study commissioned while he was minister which indicated that about 20,000 events were held in Lagos every month, and pointed to the growth of “Detty December” as an example of an event ecosystem involving aviation, hospitality, transportation, entertainment, media, fashion, technology and retail.
“The opportunity is to turn events into ecosystems,” the former minister also said.
Mohammed who chairs the Board of Trustees and the Governing Council of the Eko Tourism Foundation (ETF), however, identified infrastructure, intra-African connectivity and visa restrictions as major obstacles to the growth of the sector.
According to the former minister, hotels, convention centres, airports, transport systems, digital infrastructure and reliable utilities are essential to attracting major international events.
He further called for easier movement across Africa through improved air connectivity, e-visas, visa-on-arrival arrangements where appropriate and fast-track processing for accredited conference delegates.
Noting that MICE cannot be separated from the wider investment environment, Mohammed warned that political uncertainty, policy reversals, weak institutions and corruption undermined investor confidence.
“Africa does not only have to sell its opportunities. It has to sell credibility,” he added.
Mohammed also argued that smaller countries can become significant MICE destinations by positioning themselves as platforms rather than simply markets, citing Rwanda as an example.
On the policy shift required, he said African governments must change the way they measure the success of business events.
“Instead of asking only how many delegates attended or how many hotel nights were generated, they should ask: How many investors attended? How many business meetings took place? How much investment and trade were generated? How many jobs were created?” Mohammed stated.
He called on every African country to establish an empowered National Convention Bureau responsible for bidding for major events, coordinating public and private-sector efforts, facilitating business visitors, gathering MICE intelligence and measuring economic impact.
Mohammed said the true measure of a successful business event was not simply how many people attended, but what happened because they attended.
“Did an investment come? Did a trade relationship begin? Did a business partnership emerge? Did jobs get created?
“That is when MICE stops being merely an event, and becomes an engine of economic transformation,” he concluded.
