African Performing Arts Market: Abidjan Lights Week

For a week, the economic capital of Ivory Coast becomes the capital of African art and culture with a diverse program highlighting these artistic disciplines and paying special attention to inclusivity. This year, this iconic event once again demonstrates its importance as a revenue catalyst for local and international traders and an open window into the diversity and artistic creativity of the continent.

Artists and professionals from the four corners of the world come together to present festival goers with an array of creativity made in Africa. “I recycle pieces of upper body discarded by tailors to make hats, waistcoats and many other ready-to-use items. I learned to make these hats in Mali. It took me a good few years of learning. In Masa, I sell them for only ten thousand francs”the story of Fađa Afrika, creator of objects from recycled textile objects.

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Raminitra Bacouli, from Madagascar, makes baskets, handbags, beach hats, interior decoration items… For her, who is now a regular, “Masa is proving to be an important market, a very good opportunity to not only acquire customers, sell our products, but also to form partnerships in order to acquire new customers. That’s why we didn’t hesitate to come back this year.”.

And Amadou Koné, seller of traditional sculptures, testifies: “It’s a boon for our business. During that period, our sales grow significantly, which allows us to meet our needs and our costs..

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Located under the theme, “Youth, Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Levers for Developing the African Performing Arts Industry”, The 2024 edition of Masa is positioned as a cultural development program for African performing arts.

The African performing arts market in Abidjan is a real source of economic opportunities and artistic discoveries, thus contributing to the economic and cultural development of Côte d’Ivoire and the African continent as a whole.

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In Africa, the cultural industry is growing strongly and represents almost 3% of GDP. They are fueled by urban growth, a youthful population, fast internet access, growing demand for local content and support from intermediaries in the cultural and creative industries.

At the opening of the festival, the regional representative of Royal Air Maroc, the official carrier, Mohamed Babou highlighted the long-standing partnership that connects RAM with this great cultural event, specifying that “cooperation with MASA goes beyond simple sponsorship and symbolizes the philosophy of Royal Air Maroc, as a deeply African company“.