PHOTO: GAZ
Gazmadu Education is set to hold the third edition of its flagship Art, Business & Creativity (ABC) Conference, a pan-African convening designed to equip creative professionals with the capabilities, structures, and global access needed to scale their work.
The 2025 edition, themed “Beyond Borders: Connecting African Creativity to the Global Stage,” is scheduled to run from November 24 to 27, 2025, across two Lagos venues – Balmoral Hall, Ikeja, and DAP Event Centre, Lekki Phase 1. With more than 3,000 participants expected from across the continent and the diaspora, the conference is positioned as one of the most influential knowledge-exchange platforms within Africa’s creative economy.
This year’s event is powered by Gazmadu Education in partnership with Fujifilm as Headline Partner, alongside Gazmadu Studios, Camera Joint, Zen Studios, DAP Event Centre, and a strong coalition of industry collaborators.
At its core, the ABC Conference is engineered to close critical capability gaps and elevate African creatives into globally competitive players. The convening focuses on five strategic pillars: world-class creative and business education; global positioning frameworks; cross-border collaboration; business intelligence for scalable creative enterprises; and cultural influence designed to empower African creatives to shape global narratives.
The four-day programme is structured as an immersive learning and networking experience. Proceedings will open on November 24 with a welcome cocktail, followed by the main conference on November 25. The final two days, November 26 and 27, will deliver intensive masterclasses anchored by top African industry leaders. Both in-person and virtual attendance options ensure access for creatives across regions and time zones.
Participants are expected to gain practical business systems for profitability, creative mastery skills, actionable templates and frameworks for growth, exposure to future-forward industry trends, and high-value networking opportunities with over 3,000 creatives, brands, mentors, and collaborators. The conference also offers visibility pathways, structured community-building, and hands-on strategy workshops.
The speaker lineup features more than 20 high-impact voices including Award-Winning Multidisciplinary Visual Artist, Isaac Emokpae; Canon Ambassador, Founder, Zen Studios, Emmanuel Oyeleke; Senior Leadership Team, World Bank Groupand Former Vice-President Photographer, Tolani Alli; Founder and CEO, Slickcity Media & Executive Director, Gener8, Malik Afegbua and Founder and CEO, BigH Studios and Follow The light, Henri Ojimadu.
Others are: Head of Innovation & New Markets, AltSchool Africa, Rachael Onoja; CEO & Co-Founder, Sycamore, Babatunde Akin-Moses; Visual Artist & Photographer, Rachel Seidu; Director of Content, Moniepoint, Obinna Okerekeocha; Special Assistant to the President on Arts, Culture & Creative Economy, Ayomide Adeagbo; Documentary Photographer, ‘Dayo Adedayo; CEO, Camera Joint, Onome Ejeta; Founder, Yemi Kings Academy, Yemi Kings; Lead creative, Kahli Brown Studios, Kahli Brown; Executive Director, Sales and Marketing , RainoilChukwudiebeleOgbechie and Head creative, Khaleegraphy Khaleel Yakubu.
These and several other strategic leaders across art, business, technology, storytelling, and finance will be speaking during the course of the programme. Sessions will focus on innovation, leadership, storytelling, business systems, financing, branding, impact-driven creativity, and the future of Africa’s creative economy.
Convener and Founder of the ABC Conference, YagazieEguare who is also Founder and CEO of Gazmadu Ltd. reinforced the urgency of equipping African creatives for global competitiveness. “African creatives have always been global, but now we must become globally positioned. ABC Conference exists to equip creatives with the clarity, structure, business intelligence, and community needed to thrive beyond borders. This is more than an event, it is a movement shaping the future of African creativity, industry, and influence.”
The 2025 edition arrives at a critical inflection point for Africa’s creative sector. Rapid shifts driven by AI, globalization, and digital transformation continue to disrupt traditional models, creating both opportunity and vulnerability. Core challenges such as limited business training, poor access to funding, global competition, burnout-induced attrition, and uncertainty around AI adoption remain major barriers for creatives across the continent.
