The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of CEOAFRICA, Cletus Iloabanafor, has urged corporate organisations and policymakers to harness the vast economic and social potential of Africa’s more than 600 million indigenous language speakers.

He said effective engagement with this demographic could significantly transform business outcomes by expanding reach to nearly 60 per cent of Africans who remain excluded due to the dominance of colonial languages in governance, commerce, and public communication.
Iloabanafor delivered the charge at the University of Ghana, during the 2026 Africa Languages Week (ALW) held in Accra.

The event was themed “Sustainable Waters, Shared Voices: African Languages as the Conduit for Water and Safe Sanitation for the Africa We Want.”
He emphasised that sustained investment in African languages is critical to unlocking inclusive development across the continent.

“Reclaiming Africa’s linguistic heritage is essential to shaping a future in which the continent fully realises its potential on the global stage,” he said.
Iloabanafor further called on policymakers, corporate organisations, private sector actors, and civil society groups to intensify support for the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) as it prepares to mark its 20th anniversary.

According to him, the anniversary programme—scheduled to run from September 2026 to 2027—represents a renewed commitment to repositioning African languages as central pillars of social cohesion and sustainable development.
He noted that ongoing stakeholder deliberations are laying a critical foundation for the official celebrations, expected to commence in the third quarter of 2026.

The ALW also featured the official unveiling of ACALAN’s new logo, alongside a series of high-level strategic sessions chaired by Vicensia Shule, Acting Executive Secretary of ACALAN.
Shule urged stakeholders to design high-impact initiatives capable of translating two decades of linguistic research into practical policies and programmes that advance development outcomes across Africa.