Red Carpet no longer just glamour, it’s serious business — Nana Akua Addo.
For years, the Red Carpet was just a colourful prelude to the main event — a few celebrity interviews, flashy outfits and photo moments before the awards began.
Today, however, the global entertainment industry has transformed that once-secondary segment into a powerful branding and commercial machine capable of creating stars, influencing fashion trends and generating millions of online impressions.
Yet according to Ghanaian actress and fashion icon Nana Akua Addo, Ghanaian event organisers are yet to fully appreciate the enormous business potential hidden in the Red-Carpet culture.
In a chat with Graphic Showbiz on Tuesday, May 19, the multiple-time African Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCA) Red Carpet sensation said organisers of major Ghanaian events, especially Telecel Ghana Music Awards (TGMA), must begin to treat the Red Carpet as an investment capable of giving their events global visibility and “talkability.”
“When AMVCA started, I bought everything myself, I funded everything. It’s only in recent times that they started paying me and I can’t disclose the amount because of a non-disclosure agreement.
“TGMA organisers must know that Red Carpet is now business and some people must be paid to give mileage to and talkability about the event,” she said.
Drawing comparisons between the Ghanaian and Nigerian entertainment spaces, Nana Akua explained that AMVCA strategically curates its Red-Carpet moments, controlling narratives and spotlighting personalities who can elevate the event’s prestige globally. (Read TGMA is not the platform to judge fashion — Nana Akua Addo
She noted that unlike local award schemes, where almost everyone gets interviewed regardless of presentation, AMVCA is highly selective about who appears prominently on its carpet.
“At AMVCA, the narrative is being controlled. They show the people they want to mount the Red Carpet. There are passes; not everyone is allowed there,” she explained.
She pointed out that Red Carpet appearances are now career-defining moments capable of opening international opportunities, noting that her consistent appearances at AMVCA have significantly elevated her personal brand far beyond Ghana.
“I have been able to do this fashion thing on African soil and gone global with my sense of fashion through AMVCA. As an actress, I wasn’t getting the attention I needed, so when I started this fashion thing and started getting the recognition, I gave it my full energy and it’s paying off,” she said.
Nana Akua believes Ghanaian organisers must move beyond simply inviting celebrities to attend events and rather create strategic partnerships that help selected personalities produce memorable fashion moments.
Using TGMA as an example, she suggested organisers could sponsor some celebrities known for fashion excellence to elevate the event’s image online and also highlighted the enormous financial burden celebrities shoulder to appear glamorous at events.
“Even if the dress costs GH¢20,000, you may still pay GH¢10,000 as collaboration with the designer. Makeup, hair, photographer, videographer, PA and then I ask, ‘Why should I spend over GH¢40,000 or GH¢50,000 in one night just to give your show ratings?’”
“That is what I’m talking about. Some of our organisers can do that by sponsoring some of our female celebrities who will give a rundown of what they will be wearing to excite the audience,” she said.
She referenced Nigerian actress Osas Ighodaro, whose pre-event fashion rollout ahead of this year’s AMVCA generated massive anticipation online even before the ceremony started.
According to her, such deliberate promotional activities have helped Nigerian entertainment events dominate online conversations across Africa.
