Addis Ababa hosts first influencer summit to fight stereotypes, reclaim narrative from Western media

The first African Social Media Influencers Summit (ASMIS) 2026 brought together prominent digital creators, content producers, media personalities, and communication experts from across the continent in Addis Ababa on Friday.

Footage shows content creators attending the summit at Addis Ababa's Adwa Museum - a landmark of Ethiopia's resistance to colonialism.

Organisers Pulse of Africa and AGA Tech Enterprise framed the event as a digital-age pushback against Western media narratives, casting social media as a tool for African creators to reclaim the continent's story.

One of the influencers, Obsa Abdissa, who has 437.2K followers on TikTok, advised the youth to be responsible and keep striving.

"We have no tomorrow except today. So let's wake up now so that we don't live in regret and poverty and resentment after our productivity," 

Another content creator, William Last KRM from Botswana, who has 29.8M followers on TikTok alone, urged for more support from the authorities.

"As content creators, we can't make money only by promoting businesses. We need to be able to, you know, make a living out of it," 

Tiktok Influencer from South Sudan Raya Rayan said "My advice to young people is keep doing what you're doing. Consistency means it all," said Raya Rayan, an influencer from South Sudan. "One day, whatever thing that you're posting on social media is going to pay back. So keep on doing authentic content."

Data presented at the summit suggested distorted global narratives may cost Africa more than $4.2 billion a year, with speakers arguing that digital influence is now tied to real economic outcomes.

Organisers said the goal is to move beyond likes and visibility, and use online platforms to support tourism, investment and policy engagement.

For participants, the summit framed African creators not just as content makers, but as part of a wider push to reduce media dependency and build a self-reliant digital economy rooted in African identity.