$2bn Afreximbank fund targets Africa’s creative economy as CANEX opens in Lagos

By Elizabeth Onyogha Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) WKND 2026 opened in Lagos yesterday, bringing together leading creatives, investors, policymakers, business leaders and cultural figures from across Africa and the diaspora to explore investment, financing and commercial opportunities in the continent’s creative economy. Hosted by the Federal Government of Nigeria and organised by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) through its Creative Africa Nexus programme, the four-day event runs from November 5 to 8 under the theme, “One People, United in Culture, Creating for the World.” The programme covers film and television, music, fashion, sport, literature and publishing, gastronomy and visual arts, with emphasis on financing, intellectual property, technology, skills development, investment and market access.

Through platforms such as the CANEX Deal Room and Creative Pitch Sessions, the event seeks to connect entrepreneurs with financiers and investors, turning creative ideas and talent into viable businesses, partnerships and commercial opportunities. The initiative builds on Afreximbank’s commitment to Africa’s creative and cultural industries, which began in 2020 and has since expanded to $2 billion in available financing.

The funding is designed to help African creators and businesses develop scalable enterprises, strengthen ownership of intellectual property and retain more of the economic value generated by the continent’s cultural and creative industries. The opening ceremony is expected to feature addresses by ministers responsible for culture and creative industries from 11 African countries; Dr.

George Elombi, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank; Dr. Olajumoke Omoniyi Oduwole, Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment; Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat; and Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State, among other dignitaries. Participants include Nobel Laureate, writer and playwright, Professor Wole Soyinka; Emmy Award-winning actor Uzo Aduba; filmmaker and actor Funke Akindele; actors Richard Mofe-Damijo and Thuso Mbedu; and former professional footballers Didier Drogba and Jay-Jay Okocha.

Musicians and entertainers, including Davido, Fally Ipupa, Flavour, Libianca and Charlotte Dipanda, are also scheduled to perform. On November 6, a high-level conversation titled “One Market, One Culture: Building the Creative Economy of Global Africa” will examine how to translate the growing global influence of African culture into stronger creative businesses, exports and investment.

Speakers will include Soyinka; ministers responsible for culture and the arts from Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa and Rwanda; representatives of the International Finance Corporation; and Afreximbank officials. Financing will also take centre stage at the Creative Economy Finance Summit, organised by Afreximbank in partnership with the Creative Economy Practice at Co-Creation Hub.

The summit will bring financial institutions and investors together to examine how creative-economy transactions can be structured, financed and de-risked. CANEX Creations Inc. will lead discussions on unlocking investment in African intellectual property, while technology-focused sessions will examine artificial intelligence, authorship, intellectual property and the use of digital tools to develop globally competitive creative products.

The CANEX CreaThon, organised in partnership with pan-African technology company Gebeya, will bring creators, developers and innovators together to develop projects in music, video and gaming. Participants will have access to digital tools, mentorship and computing resources, alongside a $50,000 prize pool. Film and television sessions will explore storytelling and the commercial infrastructure required to distribute African content internationally.

These include “Stories Without Borders: Africa, Hollywood & the Global Diaspora,” featuring former Afreximbank President, Professor Benedict Oramah, and “Made in Africa, watched in Africa,” which will examine research on film distribution, audiences and financing across Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa. Sport will feature prominently, with discussions on athlete development, management and commercialisation.

Drogba and Okocha are scheduled to participate in “When Giants Speak: The Business of the Game,” while a Legends Football Match will hold at Onikan Stadium on November 8. Fashion activities will include masterclasses on building profitable African brands, strengthening textile value chains, expanding market access and protecting intellectual property, alongside the CANEX Fashion Show and Awards Night.

In gastronomy, the CANEX Junior Chefs Competition, Africa Jollof Wars Competition and live demonstrations will explore opportunities to commercialise African food, ingredients and culinary traditions in domestic and international markets. Publishin