When Global Citizen talks about Africa’s future, it does not begin with charity. It begins with demographics, dignity, and jobs.
“Africa has the potential to be the future of the global workforce,” Hugh Evans, Co-Founder and CEO of Global Citizen, told TIME Africa. Nearly 700 million people of working age live on the continent today, and within decades, roughly one-third of the world’s working-age population will be African.
But, as Evans is quick to point out, demographics alone do not guarantee prosperity. “What determines whether that growth becomes an asset to the continent’s future is investment and job creation.” For Global Citizen, one of the most dynamic engines for job creation is the creative economy.
That thesis underpins Move Afrika.
From Moment to Market: The Strategy Behind Move Afrika
Launched in 2023, Move Afrika is the touring initiative through which Global Citizen is building what it calls the first pan-African music touring circuit.
“Move Afrika is designed to change that,” Evans said, referring to the historic reality that major international tours have largely bypassed the continent. “We are investing in the infrastructure, training local crews, strengthening production ecosystems, and embedding African cities into the international touring circuit so that global tours become routine, not rare”.
The ambition is clear: build rails. Not symbolic stages, but economic ones.
The 2026 edition of Move Afrika will be headlined by Doja Cat, with concerts in Kigali and Pretoria, expanding a circuit that has already included Johannesburg, Accra, Lagos, and Kigali. Rwanda once again serves as a host country, joined by South Africa, as the tour enters its third year.
In partnership with pgLang and others, the 2023 inaugural edition in Rwanda was headlined by Kendrick Lamar. The 2025 instalment brought John Legend to Kigali and Lagos. These were not isolated performances; they were proof of concept.
Rwanda and the Infrastructure Dividend
If Move Afrika is about rails, Rwanda is where those rails first took shape.
Since its inception, Move Afrika has created over 2,500 jobs in Kigali and Lagos, with more than 90 percent of crew and production roles filled by local talent. In Kigali alone, the proportion of local crew increased from 75 percent in 2023 to 90 percent in 2025, with 95 percent of audio and lighting equipment sourced locally.
This matters.
For decades, Africa’s live entertainment sector has been constrained not by audience demand but by production capacity. By embedding training pipelines, from rigging and security to hospitality and technical production, Move Afrika has focused on skills transfer as much as star power. Partnerships such as the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator have provided paid, hands-on experience for young Africans in production and event operations.
The result is not simply a successful show night. It is institutional memory.
Rwanda’s investment in indoor arena infrastructure, most notably through BK Arena in Kigali, has positioned the country as a credible node in the global touring map. What began with Kendrick Lamar’s landmark performance evolved into repeatable production capability, culminating in subsequent editions headlined by John Legend and now the expansion into additional markets.
Jean-Guy Afrika, CEO of the Rwanda Development Board, framed it as part of a national vision: positioning Rwanda as a premier destination for live entertainment that creates jobs for young people, unlocks new economic opportunities, and delivers lasting benefits.
Culture as Economic Architecture
Move Afrika operates at the intersection of culture and policy.
The 2026 edition continues to pair live music with advocacy, including campaigns for stronger healthcare systems and investments in primary care and sexual and reproductive health across the continent. At the same time, the Music Economy Development Initiative, in partnership with Universal Music Group and IFC, is producing research aimed at driving music policy reform and positioning music financing as a driver of sustainable growth.
This is where Global Citizen’s model becomes distinct. The concert is the visible apex; the deeper objective is ecosystem building.
Evans describes success not as perpetual dependence on Global Citizen, but independence from it. “Our real measure of success will be when artists tour the continent independently because the ecosystem we’ve pioneered is strong enough to support them”.
In other words, when Africa is no longer a special stop, but a standard one.
Reclaiming the Economic Narrative
For too long, Africa has been described as influencing global music from the margins. In reality, Africans and the African diaspora have shaped nearly every major modern music genre, from blues and jazz to rock, hip-hop, house, and reggae. Afrobeats and amapiano are simply the latest chapters in a much longer story. Yet while cultural influence has been foundational, the economic architecture of the global industry has not always reflected that origin.
Move Afrika seeks to correct that imbalance by embedding African cities into the international touring circuit itself.
By 2026, the initiative will span Kigali and Pretoria, with prior expansions into Lagos and Johannesburg. Each city added to the circuit compounds the value of the next. Promoters can route tours. Equipment suppliers can invest with confidence. Crews can build careers rather than gigs.
The logic is cumulative.
Africa’s creative economy is already shaping global trends. The next frontier is ensuring the economic infrastructure matches the cultural influence. As Evans put it, investment in entrepreneurs and the creative economy is a powerful place to start.
Move Afrika is that investment in motion.
And if the rails hold, the continent’s creative future will not be episodic. It will be structural.
