Started as a Nigerian cultural moment, it’s spreading across the continent – and minting cash
FEATURE | NNAMDI O.MADICHIE, MOTSHEDISI MATHIBE & NOBULALI DANGAZELE | Every December in Nigeria and Ghana a giant celebration takes set up, unfolding in a whirlwind of concerts, gala’s, weddings, artwork reveals, dress-ups, meet-americaand commute. Locals and diaspora west Africans coming again from some distance flung places blueprint together to create Detty December, a festive match stretching from mid-December to the recent year.
Detty is a naughty term for “dirty” in the regional Pidgin language and “Detty December” is a term customarily believed to have been coined by Afropop big title Mr Eazi in 2016. It skill letting unfastened and indulging in some fun and revelry.
Predominant occasions headlined by native and world song stars punctuate Detty December. In Nigeria occasions fluctuate from Flytime Fest in Lagos to Carnival Calabar, which showcases cultural heritage. In Ghana, gala’s like AfroFuture and Afro Nation attract world celebrities and influencers as well to returning electorate.
But this isn’t appropriate a holiday poke. Propelled by youthful vitality and cultural innovation, it’s an financial phenomenon. And it represents a shift in Africa’s metropolis panorama and its relationship with the comfort of the realm.
Detty December now stands as a pillar of Africa’s inventive economy, which has constructed on the realm recognition of song from the continent, from Afrobeats to amapiano.
As marketing and entrepreneurship lecturers with an test on the inventive industries, we’ve researched Detty December and assume it’s a cultural tourism phenomenon with the aptitude to spread across the continent. In fact, it’s already begun to impress so.
Despite infrastructure challenges, areas like Lagos are recent cultural epicentres. For the period of Detty December the metropolis turns accurate into a carnival of reunions and celebrations. “I Correct Got Backs” (IJGBs) return, song spills from every bar and occasions pop up day-to-day.
Once simply a cultural moment, Detty December has change accurate into a highly efficient financial engine. It makes a colossal construct on hospitality, entertainment, tourism and native businesses.
In Lagos on my own, the 2024 festivities generated an estimated US$71.6 million in command revenue. Hotels contributed US$44 million and brief-term leases added US$30 million.
Nationally, the affect is diagram more staggering. Detty December injected over US$220 million into Nigeria’s economy in 2023.
A critical driver of this enhance is tourism. An estimated 1.2 million company flocked to Lagos in December 2024. Nearly about 90% of these were diaspora Nigerians.
Afrobeats big title Wizkid’s Made in Lagos concert on my own pulled in cease to US$650,000 in designate sales. New tune releases on Fridays have change into parts of the season.
Beyond reveal spending, Detty December creates non permanent and permanent jobs and bolsters small businesses.
Ghana: December in GH
The govt. of neighbouring Ghana has recognised this doable, strategically branding its festive season December in GH. This initiative leverages cultural tourism for tall financial to find. The country even takes measures like visa-on-arrival in December to support company.
This builds on cultural tourism successes just like the 2019 twelve months of Return marketing campaign. In 2023, December in GH reportedly attracted about 115,000 people.
Even in a tantalizing financial climate, Detty December continues to thrive. This indicates a want for cultural connection and a worthy-wanted to find away, particularly among the continent’s early life and its world diaspora communities.
South Africa: Ke Dezemba
From Flytime in Lagos and AfroNation in Accra to Alte Sounds in Kigali and the intelligent December nightlife in Mombasa or Johannesburg’s rooftop celebration occasions, African cities have change into seasonal epicentres for cultural consumption.
“Ke Dezemba” is a term utilized in South Africa to yell the festive season. It’s a intelligent and celebratory term that’s customarily linked to summer season holidays, braaiing (barbecuing) and social gatherings. It could perhaps perhaps change into the branding of the country’s believe Detty December.
South Africa’s world profile has been raised at some stage in its 2025 presidency of the G20. Adopting its believe version of Detty December may proceed to originate higher Brand South Africa. It could perhaps perhaps yell off the country’s vibrancy, creativity, hospitality and doable for funding.
Aligning cultural social gathering with world visibility may reframe a season of revelry accurate into a strategic cultural and financial asset. For South Africa, this could inject capital into the tourism sector, boosting hospitality, transport and ancillary products and services.
Beyond reveal tourism, the spotlight on South African artwork and culture at some stage in this era may originate a lasting affect on the inventive economy, fostering enhance and job creation.
Physical social gathering is likely to be digitally amplified to originate a lasting affect.
A well-known instance is Spotify’s unveiling of its Detty December hub. The song streaming service intends celebrating the festive season across west Africa and South Africa with playlists of celebration tracks.
Spotify’s Phiona Okumu explains: “Detty December is a special time for our customers in west Africa, and Ke Dezemba symbolises South Africa’s spirit of social gathering”.
Easy how to originate it work
The classes from west African cities indicate that cultural economies thrive with: flexible governance, inclusive participation, engaged diasporas, innovative industry items.
For Nigeria’s Detty December mannequin to be sustainable it would require strategic policy toughen, metropolis planning integration and funding in inventive infrastructure.
Funding items resembling memberships and sponsorships are wanted for the longevity of song gala’s. Policy toughen and infrastructure funding are wanted to unencumber the fat doable of the inventive sector.
Cultural tourism, powerfully embodied by Detty December, is emerging as a viable financial technique for African cities. This signals a broader recognition of culture’s financial vitality. It presents a compelling canvas for financial construction and nation branding.
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Nnamdi O. Madichie is Professor of Marketing & Entrepreneurship, University of Kigali, Motshedisi Mathibe is Head of School Gordon Institute of Industry Science, University of Pretoria, and NobuLali Dangazele, is Lecturer at the Gordon Institute for Industry Science, University of Pretoria
Provide: The Conversation
