Botswana Forum to Spotlight LGBTQ+ Economic Inclusion and Power

Gaborone, Botswana will become the epicentre of a bold conversation about Africa’s future—one that centres economic inclusion, creativity, and the LGBTQIA+ community.

Hosted by the non-profit Banana Club on 24 October, the inaugural Economic Inclusion Forum is set to challenge how we define growth on the continent.

With the theme “Harnessing the Power of the Pink Economy,” the event will bring together business leaders, creatives, policymakers, and civil society under one roof to explore the role of marginalised communities—particularly LGBTQIA+ people—in driving sustainable, resilient economies.

Redrawing the Map of Growth

Tanlume Enyatseng, Banana Club’s Founder and Creative Director, says the Forum is about more than just visibility, it’s about transforming how African economies function.

“Across the continent, economic exclusion is not just unjust, it is unproductive,” says Enyatseng.

“This Forum is about redrawing the map. In an era defined by ESG frameworks and stakeholder capitalism, it is time to centre the innovation that emerges from the margins. Botswana, stable, visionary, and culturally vibrant, is the ideal launchpad for this long-overdue regional conversation.”

The Forum will spotlight the often-overlooked potential of LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs, women-led SMEs, youth enterprises, and the informal creative sector.

The Pink Economy in Focus

Valued globally at over $4.3 trillion, the Pink Economy — made up of LGBTQIA+ consumers and business stakeholders — remains under-explored across much of Africa. In South Africa alone, the spending power of the LGBTQIA+ market has been estimated at R250 billion ($13,7 billion) annually

The Forum will unpack this potential through key discussions on topics including:

• Understanding the Pink Economy: The business and market potential of LGBTQIA+ economic inclusion
• Economic Inclusion Business Practices: Strategies for authentic engagement across branding, procurement, and workforce development
• The Role of Art, Culture, and Media in Shaping Economies
• Legal and Policy Frameworks for Inclusive Development

The programme promises an eclectic mix of keynote speeches, expert panels, and a live podcast recording, creating space for dialogue, data, and disruption.

Culture as Capital

True to Banana Club’s ethos, the Forum will end on a high note with the Banana Club Block Party on 25 October. This celebration of underground music and Southern African youth culture is both a closing act and a statement: Joy is strategy. Inclusion is growth. Culture is capital.

“This is not a rights-based summit,” Enyatseng emphasises. “It’s a market-forward, data-driven initiative. We are reframing the 4.3 trillion US dollar global Pink Economy as a lever for regional transformation, with Botswana positioned as a leader in this charge.”

He adds that the Forum directly responds to Botswana’s vision for regional leadership and innovation, citing Vice President Ndaba Gaolathe’s call for Africa’s “borders to be bridges, and our institutions, instruments of the future.”

Banana Club is a Botswana-based artistic collective that fosters dialogue across art, design, film, and human rights in Sub-Saharan Africa. Through its artist fund and public engagement sessions, it supports emerging talent and uses creative platforms to explore urgent social and cultural issues.