Lagos creative showcase adds grants for its most promising businesses

Lagos — Entertainment Week Africa, the Lagos gathering for the continent's creative industries, is adding a pool of grants for the most promising businesses in its Deal Room this year.

The grant pool was announced at a meeting of past Deal Room participants in Lagos on 7 October, Nairametrics reports. It is aimed at an old problem for African creative companies: getting from an early idea or young business to the point where they can attract money, partners and commercial support.

How it will work

• Businesses in the 2026 Deal Room will work with mentors throughout the programme.
• A jury, including each company's lead mentor, will assess them against set criteria.
• The standout businesses will be considered for grants, to be awarded during the event in November.

The amounts and the number of grants have not been announced.

What happened last year

• More than 178 companies applied and were shortlisted for the 2025 Deal Room.
• Nine went through to the accelerator stage.
• Four drew interest from investors at the event.

Among the participants were Aktivate, Atsur, FriendnPal, Growwr, Prop'ly and Sports Reels. Future Africa, Catalyst Fund and Consonance Invest provided mentoring.

Two past participants described what it gave them. Bukunola Bolajoko of 1101 Technologies said it made her think about the wider network a business needs and connected her with investors. Tele Lawal of the fashion label Kouture Paradise said it helped the brand expand into the United States, Britain and Sweden.

The event

Entertainment Week Africa 2026 runs from 17 to 22 November in Lagos under the theme Closing the Gap. Its tracks cover music, film and television, fashion and beauty, AI and technology, art and animation, live events and creative enterprise. Applications for the Deal Room are open on the organisers' website.

Source: Nairametrics, 13 October 2026. The article carries the byline NM Partners and reads as an announcement from the organisers.