Northern Nigeria’s entrepreneurs, creatives, and traders gathered at the Arewa Festival 2025, signalling the region’s ambition to reclaim its historical role as a commercial and cultural hub.
Organised recently by Tripoint Academy for Tourism and Enterprise Development in partnership with the Global Entrepreneurship Network Lagos, the festival drew tens of thousands of participants from across the 19 northern states, highlighting efforts to position the region as a centre of commerce, creativity, and innovation.
Held in alignment with Global Entrepreneurship Week under the theme “Together, We Build,” the event combined a celebration of northern heritage with a showcase of the region’s contemporary economic potential.
Speaking during a pre-event press conference, co-convener of the festival, Muhammed Shuhda, explained that the concept was deliberately rooted in regional identity.
“‘Arewa’ is a word that represents Northern Nigeria, so when people hear ‘Arewa Festival’, that identity naturally comes to mind. With the Global Entrepreneurship Week theme ‘Together, We Build’, we wanted to create something that unites Northern entrepreneurs under one umbrella, not just to celebrate trade and enterprise, but to showcase the many beautiful things we have in Nigeria,” she said.
Beyond cultural celebration, organisers said the festival demonstrated the readiness of Northern Nigeria to reclaim its historical position as a powerhouse of commerce, enterprise, and innovation.
According to organisers, the festival recorded significant participation across the region. Over 30,000 attendees took part in activities spanning all 19 Northern states, while 871 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and vendors showcased products ranging from agriculture and textiles to fashion, technology, and creative services.
The event also attracted high-profile dignitaries and development stakeholders, including Managing Director, Global Entrepreneurship Network Nigeria, Dr. Olawale Anifowose; Director, Enterprise Development Centre, Pan-Atlantic University, Dr. Nneka Okekearu; Managing Director, SANEF Limited, Mrs. Uche Uzoebo; and diplomatic representation from the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Nigeria, Ambassador Tomas Vyprachticky. The Royal Father of the Day, the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was represented by Jarman Kano.
One of the defining milestones of Arewa Festival 2025 was the official launch of AREWATECH, an initiative described as Africa Rebuilds Economy with Agriculture, Trade, Entrepreneurship, Creatives and Hospitality. The programme was unveiled as a long-term development blueprint aimed at accelerating economic reawakening in Northern Nigeria through coordinated investments in agriculture, trade, innovation, tourism, and the creative economy.
Dr Anifowose said the festival would remain a recurring national platform for showcasing Northern Nigeria’s entrepreneurial strength.
“What we want to achieve with the Arewa Festival is to continuously showcase the creativity and entrepreneurial strength of Northern Nigeria. The festival will move to different parts of the country, still as the Arewa Festival, giving entrepreneurs and creatives from the North the opportunity to show what they have in every region of Nigeria,” he said.
Organisers said AREWATECH is already attracting national attention for its potential to activate competitive agricultural value chains, improve interstate and cross-border trade, strengthen youth employment and entrepreneurship, expand the region’s creative and digital economy, and position Northern Nigeria as a tourism and hospitality destination. The festival served as the first major touchpoint for the initiative, with business clinics, knowledge exchanges, and statewide masterclasses introducing participants to AREWATECH’s core pillars.
The two-day grand event in Kano, alongside activities in 18 other Northern states, showcased the depth and diversity of Arewa’s identity. A vibrant marketplace enabled SMEs to gain visibility, generate sales, attract investment interest, and receive guidance on export readiness. Cultural and heritage showcases, including Durbar displays, fashion exhibitions, traditional performances, and indigenous culinary experiences, highlighted the region’s historical prestige and cultural wealth. At the same time, innovation and leadership sessions, delivered through statewide entrepreneurship masterclasses, strengthened collaboration across public and private sectors.
Young people and creatives featured prominently, with fashion runways, art exhibitions, and creative showcases providing a platform for emerging talents shaping the future of the region.
The importance of inclusion and access to opportunity was also emphasised by Managing Director of SANEF Limited, Mrs Uche Uzoebo, one of the festival’s key partners.
“When we talk about financial inclusion, we must also talk about access points. That’s why this festival matters to us at SANEF Limited; the North has one of the highest exclusion rates, and this platform allows us to bring more people into the financial space through literacy, empowerment, and meaningful impact,” she said.
Building on the success of the 2025 edition, Tripoint Academy and its partners said plans are underway to extend the Arewa Festival experience to Southern and Western Nigeria, deepen the implementation of AREWATECH across states, establish annual innovation hubs and marketplaces, strengthen regional trade corridors and creative economy pipelines, and scale entrepreneurship support programmes throughout the year.
Organisers said the long-term goal is to position the Arewa Festival as a national model for economic reawakening and cultural revitalisation, demonstrating how commerce, creativity, and community can drive inclusive growth.
