Lagos is set to host one of Africa’s boldest celebrations of creative entrepreneurship later this month, as the Creative Retail Weekend takes over the British Council in Ikoyi on September 27–28, 2025.
The two-day festival promises fashion runways, masterclasses, exhibitions, live performances, networking opportunities, and immersive experiences designed to empower the continent’s retail innovators.
According to a statement shared with The Guardian, registration for vendors, volunteers, models, and attendees is now open at www.crw.ng, ahead of the festival taking place on September 27 and 28, 2025, from 10 AM daily at the British Council, 20 Thompson Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos, with limited seats available.
The Weekend builds on a smaller experiment earlier this year. In March 2025, the Creative Retail Meetup brought together a modest group of Lagos-based founders, designers, and makers for a day of learning, networking, and candid discussions. Though intimate, the Meetup revealed a pressing need for spaces where creative entrepreneurs could exchange knowledge, foster community, and focus on growth over hype.
Kingston Stratis, Founder and CEO of Coconut Africa, the tech startup powering the Weekend, said the festival represents a natural evolution of that initial gathering. “Creative Retail Weekend is our way of giving African entrepreneurs a stage big enough to match their ambitions,” Stratis said. “We started with a Meetup to listen to the community. Now, this Weekend is where we celebrate them and push the conversation forward.”
Coconut Africa provides an integrated platform to help retail businesses manage operations, including finance, packaging, logistics, compliance, and workforce management. The festival is supported by the British Council’s Creative Showcase Programme, which seeks to strengthen creative communities across Africa, and is organised in partnership with Those About To Sell, a collective dedicated to helping African retail entrepreneurs grow.
Attendees can expect a high-energy mix of experiences, from runway presentations of Made-in-Africa designs to masterclasses led by industry experts. Exhibitions will showcase local brands, while interactive installations, networking lounges, and afterparties offer further opportunities for connection and collaboration.
For African creative businesses, the Creative Retail Weekend is more than a showcase—it is a rallying point. By providing a dedicated platform for learning, celebration, and visibility, the event underscores the potential of African retail to compete on a global stage.
