Malaika Uwamahoro on Thursday, May 14, brought a cultural touch to the opening ceremony of the 13th Africa CEO Forum at Kigali Convention Centre, where more than 2,000 heads of state, chief executives and entrepreneurs from 75 countries gathered for two days of discussions on megaprojects, clean energy, intra-African investment and the future of African business.

The Rwandan poet, singer and social justice activist opened the summit with a tightly delivered rap that mirrored the forum’s core themes. "World order reshuffling. Real power shifting. Aid is retreating. Capital fleeing,” she began, sketching a global landscape in flux before posing a challenge to leaders in the room, "To future-proof African youth, what are we willing to do?”

Repeating "New African era,” she threaded a message of continental change through the performance. "From the Sahara to the Kalahari Desert. East to the west. Key conversations. Transforming our continent,” she said, suggesting the summit belonged to a broader moment of shift.

In one of the most shared lines of the morning, Uwamahoro told executives, "You’re at the table, not on the menu. You make the house rules.” The message: African leaders should define the terms of engagement in global markets rather than react to them.

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She moved from rhetoric to economics, invoking scale and leverage. "We got the size. We got the masses. To lift the world scale global markets. Africa’s massive. Vast. Huge,” she said, urging leaders to "increase our profits” and "generate generational wealth,” adding, "No handouts. No begging for help. We’re moving forward.”

Infrastructure and integration surfaced in rapid succession. "Beautiful, brilliant African minds. Paving the way for an African railway. Africa opening the border gates. Plan, build, create. For efficient and fair trade,” she said, aligning her message with the forum’s focus on trade corridors, regional mobility and industrial expansion.

Uwamahoro’s call for unity sharpened toward the close. "We’ve got the power and all the resources. Let’s unite forces. Sign, build, approve endorsements,” she said, before returning to the refrain. "You’re in control. Power our cities. And we’ll make the globe move. It’s a new era. Rise of the new African CEOs.”

The performance, both rallying cry and economic manifesto, set the tone for a summit focused on continental ownership and global competitiveness, grounding boardroom conversations in a cultural voice that insisted the answers, as she put it, "have always been within.”