AfroFuture’s Abdul Karim Abdullah on boosting Africa’s creative market

In an interview with Music Business Worldwide as part of the publication’s Trailblazers series, Abdullah added that the event’s success lies in its resonance with upwardly mobile Gen Z and millennial consumers.

According to Abdullah, the event was conceived after visiting Ghana with co-founder Kenny Agyapong, during which they “realised that there was an opportunity for us to bring the community and the diaspora together in a way that hadn’t been done before in the country.”

Formerly known as Afrochella, the event was first held in December 2017 at the Accra Polo Court to 4 600 partygoers. Since then, it has been hosted at the El Wak Stadium. This year, Nigerian artist Davido, Ghana’s Black Sherif and British-Gambian rapper J Hus have been confirmed as headliners for the festival, which expects to draw more than 30 000 patrons.

“About 45% of our audience attends the festival from North America, 13% from Europe and Asia and about 12% come from African countries outside of Ghana and South Africa,” Abdullah said.

Elsewhere, Abdullah discussed additional festival initiatives, including the AfroFuture Foundation targeting long-term support for the local community, and the Rising Star Challenge for undiscovered talent, which aims to support live music across Africa. Ten musicians are selected from a shortlist of 25 unsigned artists, with five finalists performing on AfroFuture’s Rising Star Stage. The grand prize includes an exclusive recording contract with Sony Music Africa, global distribution, marketing support, access to AfroFuture’s recording studio and mentorship from industry professionals.

“In 2022, we took things up a notch with the addition of the Rising Star DJ Challenge, a call for DJs from across the diaspora to share their talents with our audience and to have the chance to grace the stage at our AfroFuture festival.

On the franchise’s impact on local tourism, Abdullah highlighted AfroFuture’s commitment to supporting the local community through employment and its significant impact on tourism. In 2019, the festival contributed $2.1 billion to tourism revenue during the Year of Return. This year, it’s expected to make up about 16% of Ghana’s tourism. AfroFuture has become synonymous with international visitors’ perception of Ghana. Abdullah and his co-founders were named Goodwill Ambassadors of Tourism for their remarkable impact on Ghana and the wider African continent.

“We’re seeking to continue to strengthen our narrative within our primary pillars of food, art, fashion, and music as well as striving towards a united diaspora,” said Abdullah about future objectives. “We launched our ‘Road to AfroFuture’ experiential popup activation to catapult our brand into the sub-Saharan market. Since the launch of this initiative in 2022, we’ve had the opportunity to expand our presence to the UK, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, and France. As we continue to gain momentum and garner more popularity around our “Road to Afrofuture” events, we’ll aim to explore additional locations and expand our reach to more diverse markets.”

Several other activities have been designed around the event this year, notably the Afro Expo 2023, a two-week event that presents digital experiences, wellness sessions, screenings and panel discussions, the Black Ambition Pitch Competition entrepreneurship contest, the AfroFuture Music Museum and the AfroFuture x Black Film Space Film Competition.

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