Ghanaian executive and entrepreneur Khadijat El Alawa has been announced as a speaker at the African Entrepreneurship and Business Summit, AEBS 2026, where she will lead a conversation on building African brands through creativity, innovation and commerce.
Her participation brings a distinctive perspective to the summit, combining experience in food manufacturing, FMCG, brand development, music, media and talent management.
As Co Founder of The Cheer Natives Ltd, Khadijat is helping build a portfolio of proudly African consumer brands including Cheer Up Iced Tea, African Hot Sauce and HB Spices.
Her work with The Cheer Natives reflects a growing movement of African entrepreneurs building consumer products from local resources and positioning them for wider markets.
Khadijat has been involved in driving brand strategy, manufacturing innovation and creative marketing, with a focus on creating value through local sourcing and building brands that reflect African identity.
Her entrepreneurial journey extends beyond food manufacturing.
Khadijat has built significant experience in the African music and entertainment industry. She previously worked with Universal Music Group, where she developed expertise in artist development, A&R and international music marketing.
She currently serves as Head of Music and Talent at Culture Management Group and AfroFuture, where she oversees music programming, artist relations, talent strategy and performance curation for one of Africa’s leading cultural festivals.
Through this role, she continues to contribute to the development and visibility of African creative talent.
Khadijat also leads The Continent Live, a music incubator and boutique label focused on developing emerging artists, producing live experiences and creating original content across Africa and the diaspora.
Her career demonstrates how creativity can move beyond entertainment and become a driver of enterprise.
From consumer products to music and cultural platforms, Khadijat has worked across sectors where storytelling, creativity and commercial strategy meet.
This perspective will be central to her AEBS 2026 conversation.
For African entrepreneurs, building a strong product is only one part of creating a successful brand. The larger challenge is developing the identity, distribution, customer experience and commercial strategy required to compete in increasingly global markets.
Khadijat’s experience offers a practical lens on that challenge.
Her work with The Cheer Natives particularly reflects the growing opportunity for African entrepreneurs to create value locally, develop competitive consumer products and build brands that can travel beyond their home markets.
Her participation also aligns with the wider focus of AEBS 2026, which seeks to highlight entrepreneurs and business leaders building solutions, brands and institutions capable of contributing to Africa’s economic future.
The 2026 summit is themed “Made in Africa. Built for the World.”
AEBS 2026 will take place on November 5, 2026, at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.
