Senegal is Calling x Africa Pops to turn New York into West African cultural, investment platform

By Mutiu Olawuyi 

Senegal’s creative energy, diaspora strength and investment potential will take center stage in New York this June as Senegal is Calling x Africa Pops launches a series of cultural, sporting and business activations tied to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Led by Josephine Garrick Ltd Group, through We Export and TRIPNBUSINESS, the initiative is designed to use the global attention around the World Cup to promote Senegal and wider West Africa as a destination for culture, tourism, trade, investment and diaspora partnership.

The program will bring together fan-zone experiences, a Senegal cultural parade, business networking, investor roundtables and sector-focused discussions involving Senegal, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea.

Organizers say the initiative aims to move beyond celebration by converting public visibility into practical business opportunities for West African entrepreneurs, brands, investors and institutions.

“In June 2026, Senegal is Calling x Africa Pops turns New York into a unique platform where public engagement, diaspora activation, nation branding, and investment come together around West Africa,” the organizers stated.

The activities begin on June 16 with a MetLife Stadium Experience from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., a Senegal Cultural Parade at 1 p.m., and a France vs Senegal Fan Zone from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. On June 17, the spotlight shifts to business with Africa Pops – Investors & Buyers Day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., followed by an investors’ dinner from 6:30 p.m. On June 22, organizers will host a Norway vs Senegal Fan Zone from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., alongside another MetLife Stadium Experience from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

At the center of the initiative is a strategic attempt to present Senegal not only as a football-loving nation, but as a modern African hub of creativity, hospitality, enterprise and global connection.

Through the fan zones, cultural programming, hospitality events, media engagement and brand activations, the platform seeks to create high-visibility gathering points for the Senegalese and African diaspora, sponsors, partners and invited guests in New York.

The business arm of the week, Africa Pops – Investors & Buyers Day, will take place at Virgin Hotels New York City under the theme “Beyond the Hype – From Pride to Power: West Africa Pops Up.” The conference will focus on export readiness, buyer trust, access to global capital, investment structuring and business matchmaking.

Sectors expected to feature in the discussions include agro-industry, fintech, artificial intelligence and digital services, tourism, logistics, blue economy, green economy and energy.

For West Africa, the deeper value of the initiative lies in its attempt to connect culture with economic transformation. Rather than treating sport, fashion, food, tourism and creative expression as isolated attractions, the program frames them as engines of visibility, revenue, partnership and long-term development.

Josephine Garrick, founder of We Export and TRIPNBUSINESS and CEO of Josephine Garrick Ltd, said the initiative was born from a strong belief in Senegal’s present and future.

“Senegal is Calling x Africa Pops was born from a conviction: my beloved Senegal deserves to be told at the level of what it represents today. A young, creative, ambitious country, rooted in its history and firmly oriented toward the world,” Garrick said.

She added that the goal is to create “more than a Senegalese and African presence in New York,” but “to establish a stage” where brands, talents, companies, industries, creators, chefs, architects, artists, the diaspora, partners and investors can meet and build a shared future.

Garrick said the initiative is also intentionally shaped by Senegalese talent, with artistic direction entrusted to Xalimart Group and collaborations involving figures such as Chef Cissé and the Association of Senegalese in the Americas.

According to her, three ideas guide the vision: Black Excellence, Afrofuturism and Legacy.

“Black Excellence, to affirm our standards and our ability to create premium experiences in the most strategic spaces, where we are least expected,” she said. “Afrofuturism, to express an Africa that imagines, builds, and influences the world of tomorrow. Legacy, finally, because every project must draw from our heritage, leave a mark, open a path, and create possibilities for future generations.”

The initiative also points beyond New York. TRIPNBUSINESS is preparing future missions in West Africa, including a focus on Dakar 2026 for the Youth Olympic Games, Benin through Vodun Days 2027, and a planned mission to Conakry, Guinea, targeting sectors such as industry, agribusiness, mining and real estate.

For the Senegalese diaspora and West African business community, Senegal is Calling x Africa Pops offers a timely model: culture opens the door, but structured business engagement keeps the door open.

The challenge now will be follow-through. If the New York activations can produce measurable partnerships, investor commitments, buyer connections and long-term collaboration, the initiative could become more than a World Cup-season celebration. It could become a replicable framework for how West African countries transform global attention into shared prosperity.

As Garrick put it, “With Senegal is Calling x Africa Pops, we are not simply presenting West Africa. We are asserting a vision: that of a West Africa in motion—creative, ambitious, connected to its diaspora, and ready to engage with the world.”