As Rwanda prepares to bring Formula 1 to Africa, a bigger question deserves our attention: Are we investing in our own future, or spending hundreds of millions of dollars to strengthen somebody else’s brand?
Personally, I am not enthused about Rwanda’s decision to bring Formula 1 to Africa. I understand the excitement, the global visibility and the prestige associated with hosting one of the world’s most recognisable motorsport competitions. I also appreciate Rwanda’s ambition to position itself as a leading destination for international events, tourism and investment.
But beyond the glamour, the international headlines and the promise of economic opportunities, I believe we must ask a difficult question: What exactly is Africa gaining, and at what cost?
Rwanda deserves credit for thinking big. However, thinking big should not prevent us from thinking strategically about ownership, sustainability and the long-term economic interests of our continent.
The $600 Million Question ?
Estimates surrounding the proposed Formula 1 project suggest that the overall financial commitment could reach approximately $600 million or more over ten years, depending on construction costs, annual hosting fees, maintenance and other operational expenses. This is an illustrative estimate, not a confirmed Rwandan government budget.
A substantial portion of such expenditure could go towards hosting fees, circuit maintenance, event operations and payments to international commercial stakeholders.
And what happens after the ten-year agreement expires?
Will Rwanda have built a sustainable African sporting institution with lasting commercial value, or will it have spent hundreds of millions of dollars hosting a global brand whose commercial ownership remains elsewhere?
These are not questions against Formula 1. They are questions about priorities.
A country can benefit from hosting an international event, but the real measure of success should be what remains after the spectators have departed, the cameras have gone off and the global attention has moved elsewhere.
Will local businesses have grown? Will African engineers, technicians and entrepreneurs have acquired valuable skills? Will the infrastructure generate revenue throughout the year? Will the country have developed an intellectual property asset that continues to create wealth long after the contract ends?
Or will Rwanda need to negotiate another expensive agreement to maintain its place on the international sporting calendar? These are questions worth answering before the excitement becomes a questioned celebration.
Why Must Africa Always Buy Into Other People’s Dreams?
One of the most troubling aspects of Africa’s development story is our tendency to believe that global recognition must come through association with established foreign brands.
We welcome international competitions, adopt imported entertainment formats, promote overseas franchises and spend considerable resources bringing established institutions to our shores.
There is nothing inherently wrong with international partnerships. They can transfer knowledge, attract visitors and open doors to global markets.
But why is the partnership model so often built around bringing other people’s brands to Africa, rather than building African brands that the rest of the world will pay to experience?
Why should Africa always be the host, the market or the destination, while the intellectual property, commercial rights and long-term brand value remain in foreign hands?
At what point do we move from being customers of the global economy to becoming creators and owners of globally competitive products?**
If Rwanda can mobilise the ambition, resources and international partnerships required to attract Formula 1, surely that same determination can be directed towards creating an African-owned sporting or cultural institution with global appeal.
The challenge is not whether Africa can dream. It is whether we are prepared to own the dream.
Why Not Build an African Tradition Games Village in Bugesera?
Rather than focusing exclusively on Formula 1, why not explore the creation of a world-class African Tradition Games Village in Bugesera?.
Imagine a purpose-built destination celebrating Africa’s indigenous sports, traditional games, cultural heritage, music, fashion, food, arts and contemporary creativity.
Imagine a recurring international festival where African countries compete in traditional wrestling, athletics, archery, canoeing, indigenous board games, strength competitions and other culturally grounded sporting activities, with each discipline developed responsibly and governed by clear standards.
Imagine an event that brings together Africa’s traditional rulers, cultural custodians, athletes, artists, entrepreneurs, tourism professionals, young innovators and members of the African diaspora.
Such a project could become a meeting point for culture, sport, tourism and enterprise.
With the right investment, governance and international marketing, Rwanda could explore an African sporting and cultural institution with ambitions comparable to major global event brands—not by copying the Olympics or Formula 1, but by offering something distinctive that the world cannot find anywhere else.
The proposal would require serious feasibility studies, international standards, reliable financing and a compelling commercial model. It would not automatically be cheaper or more successful than Formula 1.
But it would give Africa an opportunity to develop an event whose identity, intellectual property and long-term commercial value could be owned by Africans.
A Festival Strictly for Africans—with Global Appeal
There is another possibility: a major annual African festival designed first and foremost for Africans.
Not another event that merely displays Africa to foreign visitors, but one that brings Africans together to celebrate themselves, their heritage, creativity, ingenuity and shared aspirations.
Such a festival could rotate between African countries or establish a permanent home in Rwanda, with participation from every region of the continent.
It could feature traditional and modern sports, cultural performances, African cuisine, tourism exhibitions, investment forums, youth innovation showcases, fashion, film, music and trade.
Its commercial ecosystem could support airlines, hotels, tour operators, transport companies, small businesses, creative professionals and local manufacturers.
The festival could also develop educational programmes, youth exchanges and entrepreneurship initiatives, creating opportunities beyond the event itself. And why should it remain exclusively African in its audience forever? Its founding mission could prioritise Africans while welcoming international visitors who wish to experience the continent on African terms. Over time, the event could become a recognisable global attraction, generating recurring demand for African destinations and products.
The ultimate ambition should be to create an institution that does not merely attract visitors to Africa, but strengthens connections among Africans and encourages them to travel, trade and invest across the continent.
Sustainability Is More Than Keeping a Circuit Busy
Supporters of the Formula 1 project will rightly argue that international motorsport can bring tourism, media exposure, jobs and investment. Rwanda may also gain infrastructure that can be used for other events. Those potential benefits deserve consideration.
However, the economic case must be demonstrated rather than assumed. International publicity does not automatically translate into increased local income, and high visitor spending does not mean the host government will recover its investment. A proper assessment must account for public expenditure, commercial revenues, operating costs, opportunity costs and the proportion of economic benefits retained by Rwandan and other African businesses.
An African-owned festival or sporting institution would face many of the same challenges. It would need professional management, strong governance, dependable sponsorship, compelling content and consistent audience development.
But ownership changes the long-term equation.
If Africans own the brand, the rules, the format and the commercial rights, the institution can potentially reinvest its earnings, expand across borders and develop new revenue streams without depending entirely on renewing a foreign commercial agreement, that is the strategic opportunity we should be discussing.
The Real Cost Is the Opportunity We May Lose
The most important question is not simply whether Rwanda can afford Formula 1. It is what else Rwanda and Africa could achieve with the same resources. Could that investment support tourism infrastructure, regional transport, vocational training, sports academies, creative industries and African-owned event platforms?
Could it help build a continental tourism circuit connecting cultural festivals, heritage destinations, nature-based tourism and major sporting events?
Could it create opportunities for thousands of African young people to become event producers, engineers, sports administrators, hospitality professionals and entrepreneurs?
These alternatives also require investment and must demonstrate their own economic value. Nevertheless, they deserve the same seriousness and financial scrutiny as an international motorsport deal. Every major investment involves a choice. The cost of choosing one project includes the opportunities that may be delayed or abandoned because the money, attention and institutional capacity have been committed elsewhere.
That is why the debate must go beyond prestige.
Rwanda Can Do Better—and Africa Must Think Bigger
Let me be clear: I love Rwanda. I admire the country’s ambition and its determination to establish itself as a destination for global business, tourism and major events.
My concern is not with Rwanda’s right to host Formula 1. It is with the broader development philosophy that too often treats foreign recognition as the ultimate measure of success.
Africa must be confident enough to welcome the world without surrendering its ambition to create, own and export its own globally competitive brands.
We should be asking how international partnerships can strengthen African ownership, not simply how Africa can become a more attractive market for international commercial interests.
If Rwanda proceeds with Formula 1, the country should negotiate the strongest possible local employment commitments, technology and skills transfer, opportunities for African suppliers, transparent financial reporting and a clear legacy plan, not like what happened in Lagos when S1 took.place and nothing to show for it. I was there for you to know that l love those stuffs, but, l am more concerned about sustainability.
At the same time, Rwanda and its continental partners should explore the feasibility of an African-owned sporting and cultural institution that could grow into a major international attraction in its own right.
The objective should not be to reject everything foreign. It should be to ensure that international partnerships serve a clear African development strategy.
My Final Thought: When Will Africa Own the Game?
Formula 1 is a powerful global brand. Its success demonstrates what decades of investment, commercial development, media strategy and international audience building can achieve.
But that should inspire Africa to build its own enduring institutions, not convince us that our greatest ambition must always be to host somebody else’s.
Rwanda has an opportunity to do more than bring a race to Africa. It can help open a serious continental conversation about African ownership, tourism innovation, cultural diplomacy and the economics of global events. Let us imagine an Africa whose sporting competitions, festivals and cultural institutions are so compelling that the world comes to us—not only because a global brand has arrived, but because we have created something of our own.
We must stop measuring progress only by the foreign brands we attract but start measuring it by the African brands we build, own and pass on to future generations. The question is no longer whether Africa can host the game, the question is hen will Africa own the it’s own real global game?
