Event Planner / Events Manager

Corporate and social event management

What this life looks like

You turn visions into unforgettable experiences. Event Planners and Managers conceive, organise, and deliver events — corporate conferences, product launches, award ceremonies, galas, trade shows, and private celebrations — managing every detail from venue to décor to catering to entertainment to logistics. Africa's vibrant events industry is one of the continent's most dynamic creative-commercial sectors, and skilled events professionals are in strong demand.

What she actually does

You consult with clients to understand their vision and objectives, develop event concepts and budgets, source and book venues, negotiate with suppliers (caterers, AV teams, decorators, photographers, entertainers), manage event logistics, coordinate multiple teams on event day, ensure every element is executed to the client's brief, manage financial reconciliation after the event, and build the relationships that bring repeat business.

Where you can work

Sector	Places in Africa
Events Agencies	TW Squared Events (SA), Limelight (Kenya), Protocol Events (Nigeria), Entrée Events (SA) — specialist event agencies
Hotels & Convention Centres	In-house events teams at hotels and convention centres managing the events hosted in their properties
Corporate Events	In-house events managers at large African corporations — banks, telecoms, FMCG companies
Your Own Agency	Many events professionals build their own agencies — a business that can be started with relatively low capital

Why it matters in Africa

Africa's MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) market is growing rapidly — Kigali, Cape Town, Nairobi, Accra, and Lagos are all developing as significant African conference destinations. The continent's wedding market — where celebrations can involve hundreds or thousands of guests and multiple-day events blending multiple cultural traditions — is enormous and growing. Corporate Africa is investing significantly in brand events, product launches, and employee engagement events. Events managers who combine creativity with operational excellence are building significant businesses.

Your pathway in

Study Events Management, Hospitality Management, or Business at university or through professional courses
Gain practical experience by volunteering and assisting at events from the earliest possible point — hands-on production experience is essential
Build a strong supplier network: venue managers, caterers, AV companies, photographers, and entertainers are your production partners
Develop project management skills: events are complex projects with fixed deadlines where everything must happen simultaneously
Consider the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) or Events Management certification from IAPCO or your national events association

Skills you will need

Event concept and design
Budget management
Supplier negotiation and coordination
On-the-day production management
Client relationship management
Problem-solving under pressure

A woman in this field

Funke Bucknor-Obruthe

Nigeria

Funke is a pioneering Nigerian entrepreneur, lawyer, and corporate executive widely recognized as one of Africa's most influential event planners. Born on June 27, 1976, she famously transitioned from a legal career to found Zapphaire Events Group. Through her business, she effectively transformed Nigeria's event planning sector from an informal hobby into a multi-billion naira structured industry. She is the convener of The Event Xperience Africa (TEXA), an annual pan-African conference designed to re-engineer and empower creative industry stakeholders.

Volunteer to help plan a school, church, or community event — take on any role from venue coordination to logistics to decoration and notice how much organisation is involved
Research the Southern Africa Association for the Conference Industry (SAACI) at saaci.org and the Nigerian Association of Event Managers — these are the professional bodies for the events industry in Africa
Study event budgeting: create a mock event budget for a 100-person corporate dinner, including venue, catering, décor, AV, staffing, and contingency — this practical exercise builds the financial thinking events managers use every day
Follow major events companies and planners on Instagram across Africa to see the range of events being produced — corporate, social, and cultural events each have distinct aesthetic and logistical demands

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