On December 13, 2025, CSASE's African Creative Economies (ACE) Initiative continued its 2025-26 Listening Tour of Africa's key music markets with a full-day convening in Lagos, Nigeria. Lagos was the second stop on the ACE Listening Tour, which kicked off in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire on September 6, 2025.
Organized by two members of ACE's Advisory Board - Kike Aluko Wahutu and Marvellous Iheukwumere - with support from Listening Tour Planning Committee members Ify White-Thorpe and Kehinde Odusote and ACE Advisory Board Member Mr. Daniel Oyolu - the event featured discussions with distinguished stakeholders of the music ecosystem of English-speaking West Africa. Attendees included representatives from Chocolate City Group, The NATIVE Networks, Virgin Music Nigeria, the Federal Ministry or Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, AfroFuture Festival, Move Afrika, MBO Capital Management Limited, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Flytime Group, Nigerian performing artists including Teni the Entertainer, Kaliné, and Yinka Bernie, and legal and management representatives of several Nigerian artists including Davido and Aṣa.
The participants discussed the current state of the music industry in Nigeria, including, gaps, challenges and strategic priorities, building a sustainable global music career from Lagos, and financing prospects for the live touring ecosystem on the continent, from the perspectives of both private and public capital. As part of the event, participants received a “Listening Lagos mini-zine”, produced in partnership with GIDA Journal, as a souvenir to commemorate the event. The publication featured interviews with Lagos-based music creatives and industry figures, cultural notes and market statistics, and a map of the Lagos music ecosystem.
See photos from the Lagos Listening Tour event below.
While in Lagos, the ACE team also held meetings with individual members of the creative ecosystem in the city, including an office visit to Chocolate City Group.
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ACE intends to continue its Listening Tour in 2026 with convenings in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Nairobi, Kenya, which will focus on prospects and needs of the music industries of Southern and Eastern Africa, respectively.
To learn more about ACE, please click HERE.
