Cigar Culture Summit Africa 2026

After its debut at InterTabac 2025 and its second edition in Dortmund, the compact Cigar Culture Summit platform is now taking place in South Africa, organized by Messe Dortmund. The summit targets manufacturers, brand owners, distributors, importers, and retailers, as well as master blenders, lounge experts, newcomers to the industry, and passionados.

Johannesburg provides the ideal setting. The conference program runs on Saturday, 24 October, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. and partly takes place outdoors. Erika Álvarez Rodríguez, Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to South Africa, opens the event and welcomes the participants. Right after, Pedro Ramos, Sales Director of Amano Cigars and Co-Founder of Los Amigos Cigars, presents his talk “Beyond the Smoke” on connection, culture and community around the cigar. He also looks at the development of the African cigar market.

Nosipho Gumede, founder of The Cigar Lady SA, contributes two sessions. In “Women & The Expansion of Cigar Culture,” she addresses the visibility and opportunities of women in African cigar culture. In “From Consumers to Community,” she shows, together with Paul Kruyswijk, Premium Cigar Ambassador of Clippa Sales in South Africa, how a first cigar can grow into a deeper interest and a strong community. In “From Local to Global,” Shaz Bennett, SOTL Cultural Ambassador for the Western and Eastern Cape regions, shows how professionals and hospitality businesses from South Africa can find partners and international opportunities through the SOTL Global Movement. Messe Dortmund has entered into a partnership with the SOTL Global Movement (SGM) to highlight and strengthen the role of women in the cigar industry at the Cigar Culture Summit.

The rest of the day focuses on brands and markets. Andrew Edmondson of the Francois Cigar Collection, for example, offers insight into African cigar heritage and the related brand storytelling. Thierry Farah, co-founder of Chateau Diadem, shows how a young brand finds distribution partners and navigates markets and regulation. Claudio Sgroi, Founder of CST Consulting LLC and master blender and consultant, invites guests to the Blending Experience. Gennaro Lettieri, owner of Tabacalera del Oriente, traces the journey of tobacco around the world in “From Peru to the World.”

Leonor Abzaradel, CEO of Platinum Nova Cigars, shows in “Beyond Borders” how cigars connect people and markets across borders. Anthony Azar, founder of the Cigar Sommelier Institute (ICSI), offers practical advice on humidity, temperature and humidor care in his talk “Storage, Collection & Investment,” suitable for every level of experience.

A further highlight is the CLE workshop “Welcome to Jamastran Honduras” in the afternoon in the Lucretia room. Carlos Andrés, owner of Cigarmundi AG, takes attendees of his talk “From Seed to Ash” into the world of the family company CLE, one of the few cigar manufacturers still working with original Corojo tobacco seed. These seeds formed the backbone of Cuban cigars until a fungal infection destroyed the fields there in the 1990s. After a short film about the production in Jamastran, Andrés speaks about the company’s history, vertical integration, and current innovations.

Coffee breaks between the sessions leave ample room for exchange and networking with industry representatives from around the world. Visitors have even more time at the Welcome Reception on 23 October from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Molecule Bar of the Emperor Casino, where arriving and getting to know one another take center stage. The Gala Dinner on 24 October is more festive: under the motto An Evening of Excellence,” guests celebrate African cigar culture from 6 to 10 p.m.

Anyone interested in cigars, who makes them or trades in them, should not miss the Cigar Culture Summit Africa and should secure a place now. Tickets are still available in the online ticket shop for last- minute decision makers.