Joy Agwunobi
Facebook has intensified its engagement with Africa’s rapidly expanding creator economy, enhancing its ambition to become a core platform for creativity, community building and sustainable income generation across the continent.
The renewed focus was highlighted at the recent African Creators Summit (ACS) held in Lagos, where the platform rolled out immersive, on-ground experiences designed to deepen its relationship with creators, storytellers and digital entrepreneurs. More than a branding exercise, Facebook used the gathering to demonstrate how its tools, features and communities are being shaped to support Africa’s growing creative workforce and help creators translate visibility into tangible value.
ACS, regarded as one of the continent’s leading creator-focused gatherings, convened innovators from across content, culture, media and technology under the theme “Building a Sustainable Ecosystem Where Africa Trades Its Swag.” The theme closely mirrors Facebook’s broader strategy in Africa, which centres on empowering creators to monetise their work, expand audience reach, strengthen community ownership and build long-term digital businesses.
“We are excited to showcase the opportunities creators have to reach a global audience, connect with real people, and earn revenue across all content formats,” the company said.
Oluwasola Obagbemi, head of communications for sub-Saharan Africa at Meta, said the company’s approach is rooted in meeting creators where they already are. “We are dedicated to empowering creators in the communities they’re already active in so they can succeed and grow on Facebook while sharing original and engaging content,” she noted.
Obagbemi added that events such as ACS provide a practical platform to demonstrate Facebook’s core mission of connection, while showing creators how to unlock value from their creativity.
For the summit’s convener, Oladapo Adewunmi, creators play a far bigger role than entertainment alone. “Creators are the teachers and architects of modern culture. What they build today becomes the standard tomorrow, shaping how we dress, how we think and how we show up in the world,” he said. According to him, the African Creators Summit was established to bridge gaps between creators, businesses, platforms, policymakers and partners across Africa, enabling deeper understanding and collaborative growth.
Adewunmi further described Facebook’s continued support for the summit as a reflection of its long-standing belief in African creators and their global potential. “It’s a clear commitment to creativity as a catalyst for cultural influence and economic growth,” he said, stressing that African stories and businesses can scale globally when backed by the right digital infrastructure.
Over the years, Facebook has steadily evolved its offerings to meet changing user needs, building stronger experiences around Groups, Video and Marketplace. Within the context of the African Creators Summit, the platform is positioning itself not just as a social network, but as an enabler of a diverse, inclusive and future-facing Pan-African creative ecosystem.
