The NICON Luxury Hotel in Abuja set the stage for a historic moment in Africa’s creative economy, hosting the CAFA World Press Conference & Unveiling Ceremony 2025. The event marked the formal launch of AfroLiganza as a continental movement and introduced Egbaliganza 2026 as its operational proof-of-concept, building toward the African Global Fashion Games (AGFG) in 2027.
Organized under the Lai Labode Heritage Foundation and supported by the emerging structures of the Confederation of African Fashion (CAFA), the conference outlined a practical roadmap to unify Africa’s fashion and creative industries, emphasizing collaboration, trade, and cultural exchange across the continent.
Nigeria was announced as the first African nation to adopt the African Fashion Industry Growth Charter, a historic step that establishes binding commitments around standards, trade facilitation, and cross-border collaboration for the continent’s creative value chain. This official signing positions Nigeria as the first country to formalize support for the CAFA framework.
The African Global Fashion Games represents Africa’s first continental games-format fashion and culture showcase, combining competition, diplomacy, and creative collaboration. The inaugural edition is proposed for Nigeria in 2027, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of FESTAC ’77, symbolizing a bridge between Africa’s rich cultural heritage and its contemporary creative renaissance. In partnership with CEBAC, the AGFG will bring nations together under a shared creative vision while linking policy, trade, and tourism.
At the press conference, organisers stressed that AfroLiganza is designed to consolidate Africa’s fragmented fashion ecosystem, support mentorship and professional development for young creatives, and standardize continental collaboration. Egbaliganza 2026, scheduled for March in Abeokuta, Ogun State, will serve as a pilot festival for the Parade of Nations, hosting delegations from 50 African countries to celebrate heritage, craftsmanship, and cultural exchange.
Delivering his keynote, Balogun Lai-Labode, PhD, Founder and Convener of the Afroliganza Movement and President of CAFA commended the Ministry for its foresight and commitment, affirming Nigeria’s readiness to lead the continent’s creative transformation. He emphasized that initiatives like Egbaliganza 2026 and the African Global Fashion Games are not ceremonial events but strategic tools designed to transform fashion into tools of diplomacy for growth and unity through continental policies for sustainable industry.
Also, highlighted Nigeria’s commitment to leading the continent and emphasized the economic vision underpinning the movement:
“Our vision is simple and profound: to build a $500 billion African fashion economy that integrates culture, heritage, and modern markets. Through CAFA, we will mobilize partnerships, investment, and expertise to ensure that Africa not only designs and produces
fashion but also retains the value created across the continent. Nigeria’s leadership today sets the pace for all African nations to follow.”
Barrister Hannatu Musa Musawa, Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, reaffirmed the government’s institutional support for CAFA and AfroLiganza, and called for continental collaboration:
“Nigeria understands the responsibility that comes with leadership, and we have accepted it. But we cannot walk this path alone. What begins here today must continue through shared resolve and collaboration.”
The conference also highlighted CAFA’s role as a continental coordinating body that will unify national fashion federations, strengthen textile and fashion value chains, and mobilize investment to scale manufacturing and retain value locally. The Joint Steering Committee, inaugurated in October 2025, will oversee the implementation of AfroLiganza’s objectives, coordinating national festivals, stakeholder engagement, and technical preparations for both Egbaliganza 2026 and the AGFG 2027.
Chinny Nwokedi, Director of Operations at the Lai Labode Heritage Foundation, spoke to the broader economic and diplomatic potential of the initiative:
“In fact, fashion and culture have now become tools of diplomacy for economic growth and unity in Africa, and we are eager and working tirelessly at the level of the Foundation to use these tools as stepping stones to achieve the $500 billion economy for Africans by Africans in the next five years.”
The press conference concluded with a practical call to action, inviting governments, Africa as a continent and as sovereign nations, to join the confederation and collaborate with investors, development partners, cultural institutions, and private sector operators to collaborate in scaling infrastructure, protecting intellectual property, and developing trade channels that ensure more value remains on the continent and the $500B economy for African by Africans target is met.
The CAFA World Press Conference 2025 demonstrated that AfroLiganza is now public, Egbaliganza 2026 is the next operational step and proof of concept that the vision is achievable, and the African Global Fashion Games 2027 is the continental vision Africa will collectively pursue, unifying creativity, heritage, and economic opportunity under one pan-African platform. The Lai Labode Heritage Foundation invites the rest of the Continent to Nigeria, come March 2026, to experience the Parade of Nations.
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