By; JACOB ONJEWU DICKSON
The 2025 China-Africa Economic & Trade Expo (CAETE) and CEO Dialogue in Changsha may have been framed as a business summit — but within the high-level meetings and investment talks, a subtler transformation took place.
At the center of this shift was Tobiloba Adeyemo, Nigerian-born creative strategist and Founder of Raptview — a pan-African design and brand innovation agency. Adeyemo didn’t come to pitch products; he came to reshape perceptions.
“Every product is a message,” Tobiloba Adeyemo told a room of manufacturers and government officials.
“And if your message doesn’t speak the local language — emotionally, culturally, and visually — it will fail, no matter how advanced your logistics are.”
Creativity as Infrastructure
The China-Africa CEO Dialogue, hosted by the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province, Changsha Municipal Government, and Choice International Group, was attended by 1,000+ delegates representing 40+ African nations.
While the broader dialogue centered around industrial collaboration, infrastructure, and finance, Adeyemo brought a creative and human-centric voice to the table — insisting that design, narrative, and cultural understanding be treated as foundational to Africa–Asia business success.
This point struck a chord in a session featuring:
Temi Popoola, CEO of Nigerian Exchange Group
Iyabode Soji-Okunsanya, Executive Director, Access Bank
Amine Lahmamsi, GM, Bank of Africa Shanghai
Dr. Wu Zhong, DG, Finance Center for South-South Cooperation
Peng Shoubo, Bank of Communications
Yu Chen, Co-founder of YeePay
Chief Diana Chen, Chairperson, Choice International Group
Jubril Arogundade, ED, LAGRIDE and former Manager to Tobiloba Adeyemo
Though not a featured panelist, Tobiloba Adeyemo’s interactions throughout the sessions were notable — especially during cultural roundtables where executives sought insight into how to localize ethically in African markets.
“Too often, culture is treated as decoration — something you wrap around a business model,” Adeyemo told a Chinese investor.
“But for us, culture is the business model.”
Elevating African Creative Leadership
In one of the most discussed group photographs from the event, Tobiloba Adeyemo is seen standing among Chief Diana Chen, Temi Popoola, and other senior leaders — not merely included, but emblematic of Africa’s rising creative authority.
At the Nigeria-China Investment Dialogue, co-organized by the Embassy of Nigeria to China and the China-Africa Business Council, Adeyemo’s presence alongside the official Nigerian delegation signaled a shift in what modern diplomacy looks like. Nigeria’s delegation included:
Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Minister of Foreign Affairs
John Enoh Owan, Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment
Joseph O. Tegbe, DG, Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership
Janet Olisa, Patrick Ebi Jimmy, and Charity Ekekaa-Davidson — Senior Diplomats
Umar Namadi, Dr. Umaru Kwairanga, Dikko Radda — State Governors
Adeyemo wasn’t there as a government official — he was there as a civilian strategist trusted to represent Africa’s creative economy.
The Case for Cultural Intelligence
During the event, Adeyemo unveiled a preview of Raptview’s Cultural Readiness Index — a proposed framework to help international companies evaluate their cultural fluency before launching in African markets. It asks hard questions:
Does your visual identity respect local design motifs?
Is your product story co-created with the people it seeks to serve?
Do your campaigns honor or imitate?
This framework — still in development — has already drawn attention from Chinese tech founders and African logistics firms seeking brand expansion.
“Africa doesn’t need louder messaging — we need clearer mirrors,” Adeyemo shared during a post-event dinner.
“Brands that thrive here will be those that listen before they launch.”
Raptview: Designing the New Trade Language
Raptview, the agency Tobiloba Adeyemo founded, blends cultural anthropology with digital storytelling. With a footprint across South Africa, Nigeria, China, Ghana, and the UK, the company has worked with regional and international brands to create systems that make African markets feel seen, not just sold to.
From helping GAC Motor Nigeria speak the language of local youth, to designing behavior-based campaigns for Africa-facing startups, Raptview is setting a new standard for what creative strategy looks like in a global economy.
About Tobiloba Adeyemo
Tobiloba Adeyemo is a certified cybersecurity professional (ISC²), currently pursuing the Google Data Analytics certificate. He is the Founder and Chief Creative Strategist of Raptview, a brand innovation studio focused on cross-cultural design, communication strategy, and brand localization for Africa-facing organizations. Adeyemo is a former Marketing Lead for GAC Motor Nigeria, and his portfolio spans work with GREE, LONTOR, and other leading Chinese-African ventures.
linkedin.com/in/tobilobaadeyemo
Instagram: @pushingechoes
