AFRICA
CREATIVEECONOMY
LENS

Building Sustainable Infrastructure
for Africa's Creative Economies

Botswana Digital & Innovation Hub (BDIH), Gaborone

15–16 Oct 2026

Strengthening Creative Economy Ecosystems

From sector realities to action

200+

Leaders

Core Tracks

The Africa Creative Economy Lens (ACEL) is the annual action platform of the Africa Creatives Alliance (ACA), bringing together policymakers, creative intermediaries, investors and industry actors to strengthen creative economy ecosystems.

Each edition is grounded in the host country’s national ecosystem and shaped with local stakeholders, connecting local realities and priorities with knowledge, experience and insights from across Africa. Through hands-on exchange, collaborative problem-solving and co-creation, ACEL translates this collective knowledge into practical pathways for the host ecosystem, while generating learning that contributes to the advancement of creative economies across Africa.

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Building Sustainable Infrastructure

ACEL centers on three primary tracks designed to address the critical infrastructure needed for a thriving African creative ecosystem.

Policy Infrastructure

Advancing coherent creative economy policies that support regulation, IP protection, trade and investment.

This track builds ACEL outcomes and ACA Knowledge products to align governments, regional bodies, and industry on frameworks that enable scale, cross-border collaboration, and long-term sector growth.

Physical Infrastructure

Strengthening the spaces that enable creative production, distribution, and collaboration.

This track focuses on hubs, studios, venues, makerspaces, and cultural districts as economic assets that support jobs, enterprise growth, and market access across the creative value chain.

Digital Economy Infrastructure

Unlocking digital systems that power creation, monetization, and rights management.

This track addresses platforms, data, fintech, and emerging technologies that allow African creatives and intermediaries to operate competitively within the continental and global digital economy.