CANEX WKND 26: Africa’s Creative Economy eyes US$2 Billion In Financing To Unlock Growth

Africa’s creative economy requires increased investment, stronger intellectual property (IP) protection and improved distribution networks to unlock its commercial potential and enable the continent to retain more value from its creative industries.

The rallying call was made atduring the opening of the four-day Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) WKND 2026 in Lagos, Nigeria, where policymakers, investors, financial institutions and industry stakeholders highlighted the need to transform Africa’s growing creative talent into commercially sustainable businesses.

Opening the four-day gathering on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria’s Vice President, H.E. Senator Kashim Shettima, said Africa must move beyond global cultural recognition towards building commercially competitive creative businesses.

“In 1977, we came to celebrate our culture. In 2026, we come to capitalise on it. We come to turn the world’s applause into contracts, its admiration into markets, and the talent of our young people into enduring wealth,” he said. He also called for stronger intra-African market access for creative businesses saying, “We cannot continue to celebrate African creativity while making it difficult for African creators to access African markets,” he said.

Afreximbank has committed US$2 billion through 2027 to support Africa’s creative and cultural industries, building on earlier financing commitments as demand across the sector has expanded.

CANEX WKND 2024 in Algiers brought together participants from 81 countries and facilitated more than US$540 million in trade and investment deals. In Nigeria, more than US$600 million in financing is being unlocked for digital and creative enterprises through the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises programme, iDICE