Africa must turn MICE into a $1.3tn deal-making engine – Lai Mohammed

Former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has urged African governments to transform MICE into a major deal-making engine.

Mohammed made the call at the ninth Africa Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) Summit in Mombasa, Kenya, where he advocated using business events to drive investment, trade and employment.

A text of presentation of the former minister was made available to newsmen on Saturday in Abuja.

Mohammed said the global MICE industry was worth about 1.3 trillion dollars, while Africa accounted for only four per cent.

“MICE should not be seen simply as people coming to Africa, staying in hotels, eating in restaurants and flying home,” he said.

Mohammed said MICE could bring investors, buyers, policymakers, experts and businesses into African economies, thereby creating opportunities for investment, partnerships and job creation.

He urged African destinations to develop MICE strategies around their comparative advantages instead of competing blindly for the same international events.

He cited Nigeria’s entertainment industry, Kenya’s athletics and tourism, South Africa’s conference industry and Rwanda’s business gateway as examples of distinctive African strengths.

Mohammed also advocated greater cooperation among African countries, including joint bids for major international events and shared hosting arrangements.

He cited the 2026 FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, as a model Africa could consider.

Using Lagos as a case study, Mohammed said the city’s cultural and economic assets could be developed into major MICE opportunities.

He recalled a study commissioned while he was minister which indicated that about 20,000 events were held in Lagos every month.

Mohammed said the growth of “Detty December” demonstrated how events could create interconnected opportunities across aviation, hospitality, transport, entertainment, media, fashion, technology and retail.

“The opportunity is to turn events into ecosystems,” he said.

The former minister, who chairs the Eko Tourism Foundation, identified infrastructure, intra-African connectivity and visa restrictions as major barriers to MICE development.

He said hotels, convention centres, airports, transport systems, digital infrastructure and reliable utilities were essential for attracting major international events.

Mohammed called for improved air connectivity, e-visas, visa-on-arrival arrangements where appropriate and fast-track processing for accredited conference delegates.

He said MICE development could not be separated from the wider investment environment, warning that uncertainty and weak institutions could undermine investor confidence.

“Africa does not only have to sell its opportunities. It has to sell credibility,” he said.

Mohammed said smaller countries could become significant MICE destinations by positioning themselves as platforms, citing Rwanda as an example.

He urged governments to change how they measure the success of business events, beyond delegate numbers and hotel occupancy.

He said authorities should measure investments attracted, business meetings held, trade generated, partnerships created and jobs resulting from such events.

Mohammed also called for every African country to establish an empowered National Convention Bureau to coordinate MICE development and economic impact measurement.

He said such agencies should bid for major events, coordinate public-private efforts, facilitate business visitors and gather MICE intelligence.

“The true measure of a successful business event is not simply how many people attended, but what happened because they attended,” he said.

He asked whether investments came, trade relationships began, business partnerships emerged or jobs were created after events.

“That is when MICE stops being merely an event, and becomes an engine of economic transformation,” Mohammed said.

Delegates from 19 countries attended the two-day summit, formally opened by Mohamed Osman Ali, Mombasa County Executive for Tourism, Culture and Trade.