Grenadian singer and songwriter Jeverson Ramirez made history on Friday night, stepping onto the stage at the CANEX 2025 Mega Concert in Algiers alongside South Africa’s Musa Keys and Nigerian Afrobeats giant Wizkid. His appearance wasn’t just a musical highlight — it was also a moment of Caribbean presence at one of Africa’s most influential cultural and business gatherings.
The concert formed part of the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX), a flagship feature of the 4th Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF). For Grenada, the performance carried weight far beyond the spotlight.
“Jeverson is an exceptional talent—versatile, full of energy, and a true representative of the Caribbean creative spirit,” said Orlando Romain, Advisor to the Government of Grenada and member of the CANEX Advisory Group. “It was a proud moment to see him share the stage with global icons like Wizkid and other leading African artists.”
Romain explained that Ramirez’s presence was tied to Afreximbank’s mission to build stronger Africa–Caribbean links through the CANEX program, which creates platforms for creatives from across the Global African community.
At home, Grenada has also been working to boost opportunities for artists. “Through the Office of Creative Affairs, we’ve been championing the development of the creative industries,” Romain said. “We provide 100% concessions, and we’ve capitalised a business development fund at $2 million, of which nearly $1.8 million has already been deployed.”
He pointed to the success of this year’s Spicemas festival as proof of impact. “Concessions and the Business Development Fund made it possible for promoters to access the equipment needed to stage multiple events,” he explained. “As our festivals grow, the infrastructure must also grow with them. That’s why these initiatives are so vital.”
Still, Romain acknowledged gaps in awareness. “I think more awareness needs to happen. Because, sometimes we find the same people coming over and over again to access those funds, and we need to reach a much wider audience. But…the facilities are there.”
The IATF itself extended well beyond the stage, attracting investors and innovators from agriculture, manufacturing, finance, energy, and infrastructure. For Romain, that variety shows why the Caribbean should engage more deliberately with Africa. “The Caribbean needs to look at the continent in a serious way and figure out how it’s going to develop its individual relationships with different African countries,” he said, citing Grenada’s cocoa and nutmeg as natural export opportunities and the enrollment of African students at St. George’s University as an existing bridge.
Romain also reflected on shifting perspectives. “I think we’ve come a long way. If I reflect on my younger years, my image of Africa is certainly not the image I’m experiencing now. We had a very Eurocentric view of Africa — backwards, underdeveloped, corrupt — but that’s far from the fact. The creative industries have a lot to play with in reshaping the image of Africa. We now have a much healthier appreciation of Africa and Africans, but there’s still work to be done.”
That work, he argued, requires dismantling inherited frameworks. “The European model is still being taught in schools. We have to decolonise our curriculum, decolonise our media, and own the platforms that distribute information about Africa and the Caribbean, so we can project an image appropriate for us. There has been a lot of progress, but there’s more work to be done. We have to be consistent and intentional.”
Looking to the future, Romain suggested Grenada could deepen its role at CANEX. “A stage like this, a platform like this, is certainly something we have to consider, given that we have a trust in building more relationships with Africa.”
For Ramirez, last Friday’s performance marked more than an international booking. It was a symbol of Grenada’s creative spirit finding space on a global stage — and of Africa and the Caribbean drawing closer, one rhythm at a time.
