Afreximbank will bring Africa’s creative industries into focus in Lagos in November as the trade-finance institution seeks to turn the continent’s growing cultural influence into larger flows of investment, exports and commercial opportunities.
Creative Africa Nexus Weekend, (CANEX WKND ) 2026, will run from Nov. 5 to 8 at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts at the National Theatre Complex, bringing together creatives, investors, financiers, buyers and policymakers from Africa, the Caribbean and the wider diaspora.
The event is part of Afreximbank’s broader commitment to the creative economy, with the bank having earmarked $2 billion between 2024 and 2027 to support Africa’s creative industries.
At the centre of the Lagos programme will be the CANEX Deal Room, where creative businesses and entrepreneurs will present projects to financiers and investors. The objective is to improve access to capital and markets while helping build commercially sustainable value chains across the continent.
“CANEX WKND provides an important platform for converting Africa’s creative talent into sustainable commercial opportunities. By bringing creators together with investors, financiers, buyers and policymakers, we are helping to strengthen the ecosystem required for African creative businesses to grow, access new markets and retain greater value from their work,” Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development at Afreximbank, said.
The 2026 edition comes with a financial track record to build on. At CANEX WKND 2024 in Algiers, more than $540 million in deals were facilitated and agreed, with almost 4,000 participants from 81 countries attending.
The Lagos event will cover film, music, fashion, literature, visual arts, gastronomy and sport, combining investment discussions with exhibitions, competitions, masterclasses and networking.
The programme includes the CANEX Finance Summit and Deal Room, CANEX Shorts Film Competition, Jollof Wars Competition, CANEX Music Factory Songwriting Camp, Junior Chefs Competition, Fashion Show and Awards Night, CANEX Mega Concert and Legends Football Match.
For Nigeria, the event provides an opportunity to reinforce Lagos’s role as a centre for creative enterprise and position the country’s cultural industries as a source of exports, employment and investment.
“Hosting CANEX WKND 2026 in Lagos reinforces Nigeria’s position as one of Africa’s leading creative and commercial centres. Our creative industries are an important source of enterprise, employment and exports, and strengthening the connections between talent, investment and markets is critical to unlocking their full economic potential,” Jumoke Oduwole, Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, said.
The event will also draw on Nigeria’s cultural legacy, particularly the 1977 Festival of Arts and Culture, known as FESTAC ’77. Nigeria is preparing to commemorate its 50th anniversary in 2027, creating a link between the continent’s cultural history and the expansion of its contemporary creative industries.
The commercial push comes as African creative businesses seek to move beyond cultural influence toward stronger participation in international markets and greater retention of value within the continent.
CANEX WKND 2026 will also serve as a test run for the fifth Intra-African Trade Fair, which Nigeria will host in November 2027. IATF2027 is expected to provide a larger marketplace for African businesses, including creative enterprises, to establish partnerships and reach new markets.
By combining financing discussions, deal-making and market access with cultural showcases, Afreximbank is positioning CANEX as more than a creative-industry event. The Lagos edition will test whether Africa can translate its cultural reach into investable businesses, cross-border trade and scalable creative enterprises.
