African Marketplace Dubai 2025 spotlights Africa and Caribbean creative and entrepreneurial excellence

Dubai, UAE — November 14, 2025: The African Marketplace Dubai 2025 officially opened at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Dubai, uniting more than 200 export-ready brands, creators, and SMEs from Africa and the Caribbean for a four-day exhibition, starting from Wednesday, celebrating trade, culture, and enterprise.

The event features exhibitors from Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Senegal, Seychelles, Tanzania, Rwanda, the UAE, the UK, and the US, showcasing products across fashion, beauty, wellness, agriculture, technology, art, and lifestyle. The showcase highlights Africa and the Caribbean’s expanding influence in global creativity and commerce.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, Founder of the Ibukun Awosika Leadership Academy (IALA) and convener of the Marketplace, said: “Dubai represents the world — a nation of nearly 200 nationalities, built on trade, structure, and inclusivity. It offers the right environment to showcase Africa’s excellence to global buyers and investors. I believe it’s the perfect stage for us to build a mother platform that carries the weight of Africa’s productivity to international markets.”

Delivering a keynote address on Exploring the African Tech Story – Past, Present, and Future, Juliet Ehimuan, Founder of Beyond Limits, emphasised Africa’s digital evolution: “The African tech ecosystem is no longer emerging, it’s maturing. We’ve moved from isolated success stories to building strong, interconnected systems powered by innovation, local partnerships, and resilience. The next decade will be defined by African solutions transforming global industries.”

The relationship between the UAE and Africa is evolving rapidly, shifting from traditional trade to a strategic partnership. Recently, at the 2025 UAE-Africa Tourism Investment Summit in Dubai, the UAE announced a $6 billion investment initiative in African tourism, infrastructure, aviation, and logistics that is expected to generate about 70,000 jobs.

This surge underscores Africa’s growing role as a key partner in the UAE’s diversification away from hydrocarbons and toward global trade, innovation, and connectivity. From logistics hubs in the UAE serving as gateways for African goods, to collaborative digital infrastructure and green-economy projects, the contours of bilateral commerce are expanding. The UAE’s robust trade infrastructure, pro-investment policies, and strategic location amplify Africa-to-Middle East trade flows — and vice versa. Africa’s industrial and export capabilities are growing, and the UAE has become not just a destination but a launch pad for African enterprises seeking global reach.

With both regions aligning around growth, innovation, and inclusive trade, the UAE-Africa corridor is emerging as a model of mutually reinforcing economic transformation.

The African Marketplace Dubai 2025 is powered by the Ibukun Awosika Leadership Academy (IALA) and supported by key sponsors including Afreximbank, Access Bank, Lagos State (through Lagos State Tourism), Wema Bank (SARA), Bank of Industry, GText Holdings, Moniepoint, Nexim Bank, and Sterling Bank. Partners include the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), African Business Heroes (ABH), TVC Communications, Togo Mall, Ecobank Ghana, and FCMB (SheVentures).

Ody Akhanoba, Director of SME Development at Afreximbank, reaffirmed the bank’s support for entrepreneurship and trade, said: “SMEs are the backbone of Africa’s economic transformation. At Afreximbank, our commitment to advancing Africa’s trade vision goes far beyond words. We disbursed over $18.7 billion across Africa in 2024 alone, including 111 trade lines that enabled 127,000 SME subloans. We are building the ecosystems that will power Africa’s industrialisation and global competitiveness.”

Running from November 12–15, 2025, the exhibition features product showcases, business sessions, and cultural exchanges aimed at fostering investment, collaboration, and global market access for African and Caribbean enterprises.