LATEST UPDATES | VOLUME 3
Stay informed with the latest developments, partnerships, and achievements shaping Africa's MICE industry
The ICCA Annual Congress 2025, held in Porto, brought together over 1,000 global industry leaders for a powerful four-day exploration into the future of international meetings. Through a city-wide, multi-venue programme, delegates were challenged to reimagine what business events can and should become.
Professor Greg Clark's opening address invited delegates to look ahead to 2080, considering how global megatrends will redefine how people meet, collaborate, and connect. The Congress emphasized that organizations leading transformation will remain most relevant in the decades ahead.
The 2025 G20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa has made headlines as the United States announced it will not send senior officials, including President Donald Trump, to the global forum. Citing alleged human rights concerns and political differences with the host nation, this absence has sparked discussions about broader impacts.
President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, called the U.S. decision "their loss" and assured that the summit will proceed. However, the absence poses challenges for consensus-based declarations and may signal a new era of selective engagement by the U.S., influencing global alliances and negotiations.
"For African nations, the absence of a global powerhouse like the U.S. could mean less leverage for African-led agendas on development, trade, and climate finance. Countries seeking investment or policy alignment may need to recalibrate strategies."
The situation highlights how geopolitical developments increasingly intersect with the business events sector, influencing who attends, invests, and sponsors events across the continent.
Shaikha Nasser Al Nowais has been selected as the first woman to lead UN Tourism since its establishment 50 years ago. Her nomination was endorsed during the 123rd UN Tourism Executive Council session in Segovia, Spain, where she received majority support.
Following ratification by the UN General Assembly, she will formally assume office in January 2026 for a four-year term, representing a significant and historic milestone for the UAE on the global stage. Al Nowais outlined her five core priorities: responsible tourism, capacity building, technology for good, innovative financing, and smart governance.
More than 560 delegates from 442 companies across ten fast-growing African economies came together for the fourth edition of the West and Central Africa Forum (WCAF) IV from 12th to 13th November, 2025 in Lomé, Togo.
Hosted for the first time outside London, the event marked a significant milestone in the UK's commitment to deepening partnerships in francophone West and Central Africa. The forum focused on infrastructure development, renewable energy, digital transformation, and boosting finance opportunities.
According to the National Kenya Computer Incident Response Team Coordination Centre (National KE-CIRT/CC), the first quarter of 2025 recorded over 2.5 billion cyber threat events—a significant rise compared to the previous quarter.
This alarming surge came into sharper focus following insights shared at the Safaricom Cybersecurity Summit 2025, held at the Mövenpick Hotel, Nairobi. The event, themed "Powering Progress. Securing Growth", brought together business leaders, government officials, regulators, and technology specialists.
Protecting online data must be a top priority to safeguard the credibility and future competitiveness of the MICE sector, ensuring trust, smooth operations, and stakeholder confidence.
Markus AI has announced the launch of the first complete AI event crew, built to eliminate the digital friction created by current event platforms and restore the human connection to events. Markus is designed to turn events into memorable experiences and measurable outcomes.
The AI crew consists of three specialized roles: The Executive Coach (focuses on goals and intent), The Expert Concierge (subject-matter expert for the event), and The Executive Assistant (manages follow-ups and scheduling).
"Event tech today is fragmented. We want to mask the underlying complexity by letting the agents do the hard work, so the users can have a frictionless experience and focus on the connections and conversations."
— Max Gabriel, Co-founder and CEO of Markus AI
Early adopters can join the waitlist to pilot Markus for their Q1 2026 events, marking a significant step toward removing friction and creating increasing value in the overall event experience.
Exhibiting at conferences, trade shows, and expos remains one of the most powerful ways for businesses to build brand visibility and generate quality leads. However, with rising participation costs and increasing competition, exhibitors must be strategic to ensure every dollar spent turns into measurable returns.
Key strategies include setting clear ROI goals before the show, choosing the right events based on audience alignment rather than size, implementing strong pre-event marketing campaigns that can account for 30-50% of booth traffic, training booth staff effectively, and offering interactive experiences that increase engagement and memorability.
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AIME 2026
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