Global Citizen, a leading movement dedicated to eradicating extreme poverty, has announced that Grammy Award-winning global superstar Doja Cat will headline the third installment of Move Afrika. This innovative music touring circuit, designed to invigorate Africa’s creative economy, is set to expand further across the continent in its 2026 edition. Rwanda and South Africa will serve as host countries, with performances scheduled for Move Afrika: Kigali at the BK Arena on March 17 and Move Afrika: Pretoria at the SunBet Arena on March 20.

Move Afrika’s long-term vision is to establish the first-ever pan-African music touring circuit. This initiative aims to stimulate economic investment and create substantial opportunities for young Africans to engage in the continent's diverse creative economies across all host cities. Doja Cat, reflecting on her South African heritage, emphasized the tour's dual purpose: bringing energetic performances and driving significant, lasting change by creating jobs and opportunities. She expressed pride in participating in a movement that celebrates Africa’s creativity and invests in its future, asserting that “Africa isn’t coming; it’s already here.”

Hugh Evans, co-founder and CEO of Global Citizen, conveyed his honor in welcoming Doja Cat, acknowledging her history of unforgettable performances at major Global Citizen events. He highlighted Move Afrika’s role in redefining global touring by centering Africa’s creative excellence on the international stage, thereby strengthening local creative industries, generating employment, and fostering long-term economic growth through culture. Jean-Guy Afrika, Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Development Board, echoed this sentiment, noting that Move Afrika's return aligns with Rwanda's commitment to elevating African creative industries and leveraging global entertainment to achieve meaningful progress, create jobs for youth, and unlock new economic opportunities.

Since its inception, Move Afrika has already made significant impacts, having generated over 2,500 jobs in Kigali and Lagos. Notably, more than 90 percent of crew and production roles were filled by local talent, with a substantial increase in local crew participation in Kigali from 75 percent in 2023 to 90 percent in 2025. The program also prioritized local sourcing, with 95 percent of audio and lighting equipment in Kigali sourced domestically. Furthermore, Move Afrika has expanded youth training initiatives in crucial areas such as rigging, security, and hospitality, and through the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, provided 50 young individuals with paid, hands-on experience in event production. Similar success was seen in Lagos, where 90 percent local crew and 95 percent locally sourced equipment were utilized.

The 2026 edition builds upon a citizen-led advocacy campaign from the previous year, which called for robust health systems across Africa. Ahead of each event, Global Citizen, in collaboration with local partners, will campaign to urge African nations to enhance primary care, support sexual and reproductive health and rights, invest in health resilience, and mitigate financial barriers to public health. Concurrently, the Music Economy Development Initiative (MEDI), launched last year, will release new research in partnership with Global Citizen, Universal Music Group, and IFC. This research aims to drive music policy reform and position music financing as a pivotal driver for sustainable growth within Africa’s creative economy, providing vital data and insights to empower creators and amplify under-represented communities.

Move Afrika, as Global Citizen’s pan-African touring initiative, is strategically designed to tackle global inequities by creating employment and entrepreneurial prospects for Africa’s emerging generations through an annual series of live music events. It serves to showcase the best of Africa globally, attract transformative investments into local communities, and engage local artists, vendors, agencies, and crews, while simultaneously fostering skill development and training. The initiative aspires to establish a new benchmark for entertainment touring, thereby increasing demand for international and regional artists to tour the region and building local capacity in host cities across the continent. The tour is slated for annual expansion, with additional countries joining the circuit over the next five years. Global Citizen acknowledges the crucial support from partners like pgLang, Big Concerts, Cisco, and the Rwanda Development Board, as well as media partners including BellaNaija, EIB Network, Rolling Stone Africa, TIME Africa, TimesLIVE, and Vanguard Media.

This 2026 installment continues Global Citizen’s rich history of impactful campaigns and events across Africa, which include previous Move Afrika editions headlined by John Legend and Kendrick Lamar, Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 in Johannesburg, Global Citizen Live: Lagos, and Global Citizen Festival: Accra. Tickets for Move Afrika: Kigali are available at moveafrika.org. For Move Afrika: Pretoria, Mastercard cardholders can access presale tickets from February 16-18, with World & World Elite Mastercard holders receiving preferred access from February 18. The Big Concerts Fan Club presale runs from February 17-18, and general public sales begin February 18 via ticketmaster.co.za. Further details, including opportunities to earn free tickets through Global Citizen actions, will be announced soon.