ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – The first-ever African Social Media Influencers Summit (ASMIS) 2026 concluded Friday at the iconic Adwa Museum, a place forever linked to Ethiopian patriotism and national pride. At the summit, some of Africa’s top social media stars, media figures, and communication experts convened to talk about the future of Africa’s digital economy.
The summit was organised by Pulse of Africa and AGA Tech Enterprise, and it was pitched as a much-needed counter-narrative to Western media dominance. The conference speakers pointed out how the cost of these negative narratives to Africa’s economy runs into more than $4.2 billion a year.
“It’s time to think about Influence for a better Africa in action,” said the organisers. The summit called on participants to stop worrying about ‘likes’ and focus on attracting tourism, investment, and policymaking.
William Last KRM of Botswana, who has almost 30 million fans on TikTok, urged for more institutional help. “We can’t depend only on business publicity; we require sustainable methods for earning money with our art form,” he emphasised. On the other hand, Raya Rayan, an influencer from South Sudan, urged the youths to remain consistent and stay true to their original self by saying, “Consistency is key. One day, you’re going to get rewarded for it.”
The summit marks a new phase of growth for the continent, aiming to create a self-sufficient digital economy among African artists.
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