Social Media Week Lagos (SMW Lagos)
Africa's largest conference on technology, digital marketing, journalism, and social media, held at Landmark Centre.
The annual gathering of content creators and digital communication professionals.
- Event Date: Annually
- Venue Location: Landmark Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos
- Ticket Information: Tickets and passes via official SMW Lagos channels
Lagos, First African City in the Global SMW Network
Social Media Week is an international media franchise born in 2009, held in several major cities worldwide such as New York, London, and Rome. In 2012, Lagos became the first African city to host this conference, driven notably by producer and entrepreneur Ngozi Odita, marking an important milestone in the international recognition of Nigeria's digital and creative ecosystem. This entry into the global network positioned Lagos as the continent's gateway for discussions on social media, digital journalism, and technology innovation.
A Key Event for Lagos's Creative and Tech Ecosystem
Every year, SMW Lagos brings together digital marketing professionals, content creators, journalists, and tech startups for conferences, workshops, and networking sessions held at iconic venues such as the Landmark Centre in Victoria Island. The event has served as a launchpad for numerous Nigerian content creators and influencers in the Afrobeats and lifestyle scene, at a time when social platforms were playing a growing role in promoting Nigerian popular culture internationally. Sharing the same cultural and professional calendar as Gidi Fest or Lagos Fashion Week, SMW Lagos helps establish the city as a reference hub for the creative and digital industry across all of West Africa.
A Global Network Born in New York
Social Media Week was founded in 2009 in New York by Toby Daniels through his agency Crowdcentric, before expanding rapidly to other global cities such as London, Paris, Hamburg, Tokyo, Singapore, and São Paulo, eventually covering around twenty cities worldwide. Lagos's entry into this network in 2012 placed the Nigerian city alongside these international economic and cultural capitals, a recognition that helped shift global perceptions of Nigeria's digital ecosystem among industry players worldwide.
A Format Built to Foster Local Exchange
Unlike a typical trade show, SMW Lagos relies on an open format in which local organizations, companies, universities, and independent collectives can propose and host their own sessions during the event week under a shared banner. This decentralized approach has allowed the Lagos edition to reflect issues specific to the Nigerian context, such as digital regulation, the rise of fintech, and the role of content creators in the attention economy, while retaining the codes and international visibility of the wider Social Media Week network.