Africa: a major opportunity - and the reality on the ground
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By Damion Angus, chief executive and chairman of Montgomery Group and vice chair of the international organiser group.
Africa is often positioned as the next big opportunity. Sitting in a room of organisers doing business there tells a more nuanced story.
At our latest AEO International Dinner - which I had the pleasure of chairing - leaders actively operating across the continent came together to share hard-won experience, openly and candidly, over dinner.
First, kill the myth
There is no one "African strategy."
There are 54 countries, each with their own economic conditions, political climates, cultural dynamics and business rhythms. Treating Africa as a single market, as one contributor put it, is the equivalent of treating Europe as one - it falls apart the moment you try to do anything.
The macro picture, though, is hard to ignore.
Africa is the youngest continent demographically. Urbanisation is accelerating. Infrastructure demand is enormous. A significant share of global population growth over the coming decades will happen here - translating, over time, into demand for energy, healthcare, technology, and the industries our sector serves.
The opportunity is real. The complexity is equally real. And the gap between the two is where much of the discussion focused.
So why isn't the industry already there?
One constraint surfaced repeatedly: venues. In many markets, organisers are working with temporary structures, repurposed spaces, or facilities never designed for large-scale exhibitions. In some cases, growth is capped by square metres long before it’s capped by appetite.
As one organiser put it: "We've been ready to grow for years. The venues just haven't caught up yet."
Nigeria: the market that moves on its own schedule
No market dominated the conversation quite like Nigeria.
The scale, entrepreneurial energy, and commercial potential were all major talking points. Operating there requires a different mindset - one that many Western-trained event professionals aren’t instinctively prepared for.
The speaker described the early days of working in-market: decisions that seemed stuck for months, pipelines that felt frozen, relationships that didn’t appear to be progressing. And then - without warning - everything moved at once.
"Things can feel stuck for months… and then happen overnight."
That rhythm reflects how business gets done. Relationships come first. People buy into people long before they buy into brands. If you’re waiting for process to do the work that presence should be doing, you’ll be waiting a long time.
South Africa: mature, but not uncomplicated
South Africa offers something rarer on the continent: established infrastructure, a functioning events market, and a relatively predictable operating environment.
A small number of key players tend to dominate most sectors, and their participation - or absence - can determine whether a show succeeds or quietly disappears. As one contributor noted: "If you don't have the right companies in the room, you don't have a show."
Entry is possible. Earning the confidence of those key players before launch is where the heavy lifting is needed.
Kenya: a stable starting point with local reach
Kenya was positioned as a sensible gateway into East Africa - politically stable, relatively accessible, with a functioning business ecosystem.
Scale is more limited, and cross-border attendance remains difficult given the cost and complexity of travel across the continent. As a result, most events function largely as national events from an audience perspective, even if exhibitors are international.
"African events," in practice, are Nigerian events. Kenyan events. South African events. The geography is vast; the audiences are local.
The part that changes how you operate
One of the most central parts of the conversation was about working differently.
Strategies that perform well in Europe or North America often misfire in African markets - not because the thinking is wrong, but because the context is different.
One organiser described moving away from digital-heavy campaigns altogether. Instead, they focused on visible, in-market presence - including billboards placed where audiences spend hours each day in traffic.
It worked because it finally met people where they actually are.
Entire purchasing communities operate through informal networks. Relationships are the database.
Which brings everything back to a single point: you need people on the ground. Real presence - people who understand the nuance, speak the language (literally and culturally), and can respond in real time.
One line from the evening is worth repeating: "You can't run Africa from a desk in London."
Honest about the challenges
The phrase "high risk, high reward" came up more than once - and the room was careful not to leave it there.
Infrastructure gaps, complex operating environments, political and economic variability - these are the realities. The organisers around the table were managing them, show by show, market by market.
What success looks like
Success in Africa is available - but it looks different from success elsewhere.
It requires patience (this is a long-term play), persistence (relationships take time), flexibility (plans will change, often), and presence (being in-market is non-negotiable).
As one speaker put it: "You need to be there. And you need to stay there."
The question has changed
Demand is building. Industries are expanding. Investment is starting to follow.
In that room, Africa’s relevance wasn’t up for debate - the focus was on what works, what doesn’t, and how to make it work better.
And the reality is, it requires genuine passion - to be there, to immerse yourself, and to commit for the long term. If you’re motivated to do that, the rewards are there for the taking.
Thank you to Fusion Events by ClearCourse the event sponsor, and key contributors to the conversation:
- Karen Taylor, Invest Africa Ltd, on geopolitics and investment trends
- Josh Low, Montgomery Africa
- Ben Greenish, dmg events
- Jamie Hill, BtoB Events Ltd Events
