Lagos Governor Sanwo-Olu to Join California-Lagos Business Summit with AFRIMA Founder and Governor Newsom

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is set to join a distinguished lineup of leaders at the California–Lagos Business & Investment Summit scheduled for September 17–18, 2026, in Sacramento and San Francisco, California. The event will also feature Mr Mike Dada, founder and President of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA), California Governor Mr Gavin Newsom, Afretrade CEO Mr Lekan Salaam, and other prominent figures from government, business, and the creative industries.

The two-day summit, themed "Building the California–Nigeria Business Bridge," is designed to convene influential business leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, policymakers, professionals, and members of the African diaspora. Its purpose is to explore new opportunities for trade, investment, and cross-border collaboration between California and Lagos.

This private sector-led initiative is powered by Afretrade, the US Diaspora United Chamber of Commerce, NIED Group, and the Office of Diaspora Affairs of Lagos State. The summit celebrates a significant milestone in the expanding economic relationship between California and Lagos.

Mr Mike Dada will deliver a keynote presentation titled "From Culture to Capital: Unlocking the California–Lagos Creative Economy." His talk, subtitled "Investing in Music, Film, Intellectual Property and the Future of Africa–America Cultural Commerce," will emphasize the vast economic potential within Africa’s creative sector. He will address the necessity of developing robust investment, intellectual property, and commercial frameworks to support the continent’s creative assets.

The presentation is expected to explore how music, film, entertainment, and intellectual property can act as key drivers of economic growth. It will also highlight new avenues for investment and business partnerships between Africa and the United States.

Mr Dada stated, "Africa is no longer simply a source of creative content for the global market; Africa is a market, a talent hub and an investment destination. The real opportunity before us is to build structures that allow African creators to retain value from their intellectual property while attracting the capital, technology and global partnerships required to scale their businesses."

He added, "AFRIMA has been at the vanguard of Africa’s music business and economic renaissance for the past 15 years, helping to build bridges between African creativity, enterprise and global markets. AFRIMA perfectly aligns with the California Business and Investment Summit as both platforms share a common vision of positioning African businesses, talents and intellectual property for global trade competitiveness."

Other anticipated speakers and participants include Dr Charly Lemassi, Dr Badewa Adejugbe-Williams, Dr Jameine Sanwo-Olu, Mrs Victoria Remi Nkong (President of bridgeAfric), and Mr Rory Douglas (CEO of Aqua Financial), alongside other business and industry leaders.

The summit will gather CEOs, entrepreneurs, investors, capital providers, Nigerian professionals and business owners based in the United States, members of the African diaspora, and trade and development stakeholders. Discussions will span sectors such as technology and fintech, trade and logistics, transportation, entertainment, agriculture, renewable energy, real estate, and access to capital for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The main business program will run daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., featuring keynote addresses, high-level discussions, panel sessions, capital-raising opportunities, and business matchmaking. An official celebration will follow at the historic Stanford Mansion, with a Gala and Award Night scheduled at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento.

On Friday, September 18, the program will continue with a high-level diplomatic and business networking reception in San Francisco.

In a related development, AFRIMA has entered into a strategic partnership with the California–Lagos Business & Investment Summit, reinforcing the focus on the creative economy as a vital component of the emerging California–Nigeria business relationship.

AFRIMA Regional Director for Central Africa, Mr Nde Ndifonka, emphasized the importance of music business development within AFRIMA’s mission. He said, "Music business advancement is one of the core seven pillars of AFRIMA, and that is why the AFRIMA Music Business Summit is an integral part of the main activities of the AFRIMA Awards. Our responsibility goes beyond celebrating artistes. We must also help build an ecosystem where African creativity can attract investment, create sustainable businesses and generate greater economic value."

He continued, "The California–Lagos Business & Investment Summit provides an important platform for that objective. California is a global centre of technology, capital and entertainment, while Lagos is one of Africa’s leading hubs for creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation. Connecting these ecosystems can create opportunities across music, film, intellectual property, technology and cultural commerce. AFRIMA is therefore pleased to partner with the Summit as we continue to build bridges between African creative talent and the global marketplace."

Established in 2011 by the International Executive Committee of AFRIMA in partnership with the African Union, with its first edition held in 2014, AFRIMA is the continent’s longest-running and most prestigious music award platform. The 10th edition is scheduled for 2027, with preliminary events under the banner RoadTo10thAFRIMA already held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; and Casablanca and Rabat, Morocco.