Once a year, a group of global thinkers and leaders meet in South Africa to talk about sustainable solutions for the African continent. Africa in the World is a dialogue platform that has been developed by the Pulitzer-winning African journalist, Dele Olojede.
In 2025, the Africa in the World gathering will be addressed for the first time by Africa’s leading industrialist, Aliko Dangote. He will deliver a talk that will focus on obstacle crossings and African integration, where he will draw on his own experience about navigating the barriers to doing business across the continent and what it will take to take Africa on the road to economic health.
If there’s anyone who knows how to build businesses that address local challenges, it is Dangote. His business has been involved in the construction of a massive oil refinery in Lagos state. The project was designed to solve the fuel crisis in Nigeria, which, despite being a leading oil-producing country, had to import most of the refined petroleum products it needed.
Recently, Dangote Refinery exported 320,000 barrels of gasoline from Nigeria to the Port of New York in the United States. According to Dangote, this is a historic achievement because it demonstrates ‘not only Africa’s ability to meet the highest energy standards, but also its growing role in supplying the global market.’
In this invite-only gathering, Dangote will elaborate on what it means to build a more connected and prosperous Africa.
In addition to Dangote, the Africa in the World gathering will bring African luminaries such as William Kentridge, Trevor Manuel, Olara Otunnu, Ntobeko Ntusi, and others.
The festival has been running for a couple of years. The inaugural Africa In the World festival was held in 2019 at the Spier Wine Farm in the historic, picturesque Cape Winelands town of Stellenbosch, with 150 invited guests and 60 speakers representing 19 countries. Post-pandemic, the festival returned to Stellenbosch in 2023 with refinements and renewed purpose and vigour. In 2024, the third festival built on the success and momentum of its predecessors, and in 2025, the festival returns to Spier Wine Farm for its fourth edition.
Africa In the World is interested in all fields of human endeavour. Music, art, and literature are infused throughout the 4-day Africa in the World experience as the festival aims for the perfect integration of human hearts and minds.
