CANEX weekend brings Africa's creatives to Lagos as Afreximbank's creative fund reaches $2bn
More than 15,000 people registered for the four-day meeting of artists, investors and policymakers.
Lire cet article en français →
Lagos — Creatives from across Africa are in Lagos this weekend for CANEX WKND, the Creative Africa Nexus meeting organised by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and hosted by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The four-day event, running from 5 to 8 November under the theme "One People, United in Culture, Creating for the World", drew more than 15,000 registrations. It covers film and television, music, fashion, publishing, sport, food and visual arts.
From $500m to $2bn
Afreximbank President George Elombi said the bank's creative-economy budget had grown fast. "When CANEX began, we had a budget of US$500 million for the creative economy. We soon found out that it was too small, so we raised it to US$1 billion, and that was also too small. In 2024, we raised it to US$2 billion," he said.
He said the aim was not just funding productions but making sure more of the value stays in Africa, including through distribution and sales.
Influence into ownership
Actor Richard Mofe-Damijo said Africa's challenge was to turn cultural influence into economic power. "Recognition is not the same thing as ownership, and global popularity does not automatically translate into prosperity," he said, calling for better finance and stronger protection of intellectual property.
Source: allAfrica, November 2026.
