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CANEX WKND 2026 targets Africa’s creative economy
Lagos will host CANEX WKND 2026 from 5 to 8 November, bringing creatives, investors, policymakers, financiers, buyers and industry leaders together for four days focused on Africa’s creative and cultural industries.
Hosted by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in partnership with the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the African Union Commission and the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, the event will take place at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts at the National Theatre Complex in Iganmu, Lagos.
CANEX WKND 2026 programme focuses on creative industries
Held under the theme “One People, United in Culture, Creating for the World: From FESTAC ’77 to CANEX’27,” CANEX WKND 2026 will focus on improving access to finance, markets, skills, partnerships and investment opportunities for Africa’s creative and cultural industries.
The programme will cover film, music, fashion, literature, visual arts, gastronomy and sport, combining business and investment discussions with showcases, exhibitions, masterclasses and networking. Activities will include 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.
CANEX Deal Room targets creative investment
The CANEX Deal Room will give creative entrepreneurs and businesses an opportunity to present projects to financiers and investors. The initiative is intended to support commercially viable creative enterprises and strengthen value chains across Africa’s creative economy.
Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development, Afreximbank: "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. Hosting CANEX WKND 2026 in Lagos is particularly significant given Nigeria’s influence across music, film, fashion, literature and other creative sectors. We look forward to bringing together participants from across Global Africa to deepen collaboration, mobilise investment and support the continued growth of the creative economy."
Nigeria links CANEX with creative sector growth
Nigeria’s hosting of CANEX WKND 2026 reflects its contribution to the continent’s cultural and creative industries and its role as a hub for creative enterprise. The event is expected to bring African and diaspora creatives, investors and businesses together in Lagos.
Jumoke Oduwole, Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Federal Republic of Nigeria: "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. CANEX provides an important platform to bring African and diaspora creatives, investors and businesses together in Nigeria, while creating opportunities for stronger partnerships, greater market access and increased investment across the creative value chain. We look forward to welcoming Global Africa to Lagos and showcasing the depth and diversity of Nigeria’s creative economy."
Lagos event draws on FESTAC ’77 legacy
The Lagos edition will also connect with the legacy of FESTAC ’77, which brought artists, writers, musicians and cultural leaders from Africa and the diaspora together. Nigeria is preparing to commemorate the 50th anniversary of FESTAC in 2027, creating a link between that cultural event and the development of contemporary creative industries.
CANEX WKND 2026 follows the 2024 edition in Algiers, Algeria, where more than US$540 million in deals were facilitated and agreed, with close to 4,000 participants from 81 countries attending. Afreximbank has committed US$2 billion to support Africa’s creative industries between 2024 and 2027.
CANEX WKND 2026 precedes IATF2027
The Lagos event will also serve as a test run for the fifth edition of the biennial Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2027), which Nigeria will host in November 2027.
IATF2027 is expected to provide a broader continental marketplace for African businesses, including creative enterprises, to develop commercial partnerships and access markets across the continent.
