Brain Economy worth \$6.2 trillion set to reshape how Africa sells business events

A fresh perspective on the future of business events is about to land, and it places a surprisingly simple idea at its centre: human thinking is becoming the most valuable commodity in the room. An early look at the IBTM World Trends Report 2027 identifies what it calls the Brain Economy, estimated to be worth some \$6.2 trillion, and argues that this shift will redefine why organisations bring people together at all.

The report has been written by Alistair Turner, Managing Director of Eight PR and Marketing, with contributions from Megan Henshall of Google XI. Its full findings will be unveiled at IBTM World in Barcelona on 28 November, where delegates will be the first audience to work through the detail.

At the heart of the research sits a new concept the authors have named Regeneration. It follows on from the industry's recent preoccupation with personalisation and transformation, but takes the Experiences Economy somewhere different. Regeneration asks how gatherings can build genuine friendships between participants, and how events might challenge the familiar narratives that shape how people understand their industries and the wider world.

The logic behind the Brain Economy is straightforward enough. As technology absorbs more of the routine thinking that once filled working days, the ability to imagine, to learn and to make unexpected connections rises sharply in worth. That raises an uncomfortable question for anyone who designs conference programmes or sources venues: are the spaces and formats currently on offer actually built to encourage original thought, or merely to deliver information efficiently?

Perhaps the most provocative argument concerns networking. For decades the trade has treated networking as the standard measure of a successful event, yet the report suggests the industry has consistently undervalued what really happens when people meet. With hybrid working now entrenched and loneliness rising across professional populations, friendship may deserve a far more serious place in how the value of gathering is calculated. That is a notable reframing. It moves the conversation away from counting business cards exchanged and towards the quality and durability of the human bonds an event creates.

Artificial intelligence features prominently throughout, though not in the manner many would anticipate. Beyond the practical tools already reshaping how events are planned and delivered, the research turns to a more philosophical point. As automation spreads through working life, what becomes genuinely scarce? The answer the authors reach is presence. Being physically in the room, they argue, may carry more weight now than at any point in recent memory.

Turner framed the thinking behind the work in confident terms. "In essence, the Trends Report seeks to understand how we, as an industry, Meet the Moment in this age of disruption," he said. "This year's answer is optimistic, exciting and revolutionary. The industry now has the growth, stability and confidence to move beyond evolution, rethink established ideas and reinvent and regenerate itself." He added that across the research, drawing on regions and sectors worldwide alongside conversations with leading industry figures, there is a clear ambition to convert that confidence into meaningful change, shaping both what business events achieve and how they contribute to the world.

For professionals across sub-Saharan Africa, the implications deserve careful thought. The continent's business events sector continues to expand, with Cape Town, Kigali, Nairobi, Accra and Lagos all building credible international profiles. If the value proposition is shifting from content delivery towards cognitive stimulation and relationship building, then African destinations have real advantages to work with. Cultural richness, strong traditions of hospitality and genuinely distinctive settings are precisely the ingredients that help people think differently and connect properly.

The opportunity lies in positioning. Buyers increasingly want to know what a destination does to the minds of delegates, not simply how many seats a hall can hold. Those who can articulate that story convincingly over the coming years stand to win a far larger share of the global meetings market.