Stakeholders advocate easier visa procedures for intra-Africa travel

Stakeholders at the inaugural Heirs Insurance Travel Festival have called for easier visa processes to strengthen travel within the African continent.

The travel festival, which was held in Lagos, was a gathering of travel enthusiasts, diplomats, creatives, business owners, and young Nigerians who celebrated cultural diversity and made a bold call for equity in travel policies and processes.

The PUNCH reports that beyond the cultural celebration, the festival served as a strategic advocacy platform, spotlighting the foreign policies, systems, and bilateral agreements that must evolve to expand travel opportunities for millions of Africans.

Held under the theme ‘Promoting Cultural Diversity and an Inclusive Travel Ecosystem’, the event opened with a high-level panel on ‘Passport Power and Diplomacy’, featuring a Brazilian diplomat with five decades of service across four continents, Manuel Innocencio de Lacerda Santos Junior; Angola’s Ambassador to Nigeria and former Deputy Minister, Jose Bamóquina Zau; CEO of SBB Media and former CNN Senior Editor, Stephanie Busari; and moderated by veteran broadcaster, Jonathan Hanson. The panellists emphasised the need for easier visa processes, stronger border control systems, and more harmonised travel frameworks to enable Africans to move more freely across the continent.

The festival also featured a creator-led session titled ‘Where Your Nigerian Passport Can Take You’, moderated by Heirs Insurance Group’s Chief Marketing Officer, Ifesinachi Okpagu. On the panel were popular travel creators Zim Erobu, Adenike Tejuoso, and Steven Ndukwu, who advocated for a borderless Africa with fewer travel restrictions within the continent.

They also called for refunds for rejected visa applications, highlighting the unfairness of the visa process and how this increases the financial burden on Africans.

Speaking at the event, Okpagu said, “The Heirs Insurance Travel Festival provides the platform to address critical challenges within the often-overlooked travel ecosystem, ensuring that travel and migration policies are equitable for all. We believe access, safety, and empowerment should be for everyone. This is the reason we are building the platforms and partnerships that ensure global mobility and migration are attainable to all.

We also want to unite travel enthusiasts on one platform. This is in line with our mission to improve lives.”

The company said that the Heirs Insurance Travel Festival marked an important step in deepening conversations on Africa’s travel barriers while showcasing the company’s commitment to experiential engagement, innovation, and social impact.

Heirs Insurance Group is the insurance arm of Heirs Holdings, a pan-African investment company with investments across 24 countries and four continents.