CANEX WKND: Turning Africa's Culture into Economic Value

Whenever I talk about Nigeria’s rich culture with friends and colleagues, I feel like I’m sharing a colorful mix of costumes, music, dances, and visual arts, not to forget our delicious foods and drinks. When we talk about the rest of Africa, the world usually pays attention to our stories. Nigerian musicians are sharing Afrobeats with the world; Nollywood films are crossing borders; African fashion designers are gaining global recognition, and writers are changing the way people think about our continent.

These creative efforts do more than entertain. They change how people see us, shape identities, and create job opportunities.

This is why the upcoming Creative Africa Nexus Weekend (CANEX WKND) is so important. It will take place from November 5 to 8 at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts in Lagos. This event will gather creative professionals, investors, policymakers, and business leaders from Africa and beyond.

Organised by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) with the Federal Government of Nigeria, the African Union Commission, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, CANEX WKND aims to connect African creative talent with investments, markets, and business opportunities. Its theme, “One People, United in Culture, Creating for the World: From FESTAC ’77 to CANEX ’27,” highlights the link between cultural identity and economic goals.

The event is more than just a colorful gathering of artists and entrepreneurs. It is a chance to rethink how Africa funds and promotes its creative industries.

Culture as an Economic Resource

For too long, talks about Africa’s cultural heritage have focused on its historical and social importance. While those aspects are still crucial, culture also has significant economic value. Music, film, fashion, publishing, visual arts, design, food, and sports can create income, generate jobs, draw tourists, and boost exports.

The global reach of Afrobeats and Nollywood shows the potential. Nigerian music has found fans worldwide, and the country's film industry has carved out a unique space in global entertainment. African fashion, food, and literature are also playing a part in boosting the continent's cultural influence.

But just because something is popular does not mean it brings in money for the creators or their countries. A song can become a hit without its creators having the right tools to earn from it.

So, the challenge is to move from being seen to actually creating value. Africa needs to develop creative businesses that can produce consistently, compete globally, protect their ideas, and keep more of the money earned from their work. This means needing investment, good management, proper regulations, reliable infrastructure, and market access.

CANEX WKND provides a platform to bring these elements together.

From FESTAC ’77 to a Commercial Future

Hosting CANEX WKND in Nigeria is historically significant. In 1977, Lagos hosted FESTAC ’77, the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture. This festival united artists, writers, musicians, and cultural representatives from Africa and the diaspora in a powerful show of Pan-African identity.

Culture journalist and practitioner Jahman Anikulapo, who is also the editorial director of Naija Times, said FESTAC showed how culture can unite people across different places and histories. He also mentioned that FESTAC highlighted the importance of African heritage in a world where outsiders often tell our stories.

Nearly fifty years later, the main challenge has shifted. Researchers now have a chance to explore how Africa can maintain its cultural unity while building strong creative industries that can sustain themselves.

With the 50th anniversary of FESTAC approaching in 2027, it is a good time to reflect on what has been accomplished and what is still left to do. Cultural celebrations are valuable, but their impacts should go beyond shows and events. They should inspire businesses, institutions, and policies that help creative professionals build lasting careers.

What Lagos Can Learn from Algiers

The case for CANEX WKND gets stronger from what happened at its 2024 event in Algiers, Algeria. From October 16 to 19, nearly 4,000 people from 81 countries attended, with 108 exhibitors and deals worth over $540 million made, according to Afreximbank. These numbers show that a creative economy platform can do more than gather artists; it can link creative work with finance and business partnerships.

One key deal was a €245 million agreement with New World Television (NWTV) to help fund its acquisition of sports broadcasting rights in 24 African countries. This deal showed the commercial value of sports content and the chances available when African businesses get the resources to buy and share premium media rights.

Afreximbank also announced a $3 million funding package for Mediwood Studios to help grow Tunisia’s film industry. This focused help highlighted the need for funding production capacity, which can lead to more jobs, skills development, and a stronger regional film industry.

Another initiative, CANEX Presents the Angels, showed how smaller creative businesses could attract investment. During the pitch session, angel investors promised $350,000 to support three creative businesses. Cameroonian fashion designer Kibonen Nfi received a $250,000 commitment from investor Moji Hunponu-Wusu, while a group pledged another $100,000 for investments involving Kibonen Nfi and Zimbabwean designers Pam Samasuwo-Nyawiri and Thulani Ngazimbi.

The event also supported emerging African storytellers. CANEX Shorts picked three winners from 147 entries for its short film competition, giving cash prizes to filmmakers from Ghana, Kenya, and Botswana. The CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa recognized Cassava Republic Press for Female Fear Factory, a book by Pumla Dineo Gqola.

These efforts connected creative recognition with opportunities for professional growth, funding, and market visibility. They also showed the wide range of the creative economy, from film production to fashion, publishing, and storytelling. This is why the Lagos edition should enable similar and even bigger deals.

Afreximbank has pledged $2 billion to support Africa’s creative industries from 2024 to 2027. The goal is to make sure this money leads to accessible funding, strong businesses, better production capacity, and sustainable jobs across the continent.

CANEX WKND 2026 should build on what happened in Algiers by proving that the platform can help create deals and turn financial commitments into long-lasting economic benefits.

Financing Talent and Viable Businesses

One of the biggest challenges facing African creative entrepreneurs is getting access to finance. Traditional lenders may see creative businesses as too risky since their assets are often not physical, their earnings can be unpredictable, and their intellectual property is hard to value or use as collateral.

This funding gap stops many businesses from growing beyond small operations. The CANEX Finance Summit and Deal Room give eligible creative businesses a chance to show their projects to investors. For the Lagos edition, the focus should be on turning networking into real transactions.

Investors want credible projects, clear financial information, and assurance that contracts will be honored. Entrepreneurs need fair financing terms, mentorship, and the know-how to manage growth.

Not every creative idea will become a successful business, and not every project will attract funding. The aim should be to create a system where promising companies can be fairly evaluated and supported based on their potential.

Governments and development finance institutions should look into financing models that suit the creative sector, including guarantees, equity investments, revenue-based financing, and options that recognize intellectual property as a valuable economic asset without losing sound business practices.

Intellectual Property and the Value of Ownership

Africa’s creative goals also rely on strong intellectual property protection. A creator’s work is an economic asset. Copyright, trademarks, licensing agreements, and other protections help determine who can use that work, under what conditions, and who gets paid. Weak or poorly enforced protections put creators at risk of losing income, even if their work is well-known.

Digital technology has opened doors for African content to reach global audiences. Streaming services, social media, online publishing, and digital marketplaces have made distribution easier, but they have also made it more crucial to understand licensing, royalties, digital rights management, and the commercial rules around using creative content.

While African governments need to strengthen the institutions that protect intellectual property, there is also a need for better commercial knowledge. Talent alone isn’t enough. Creators must understand contracts, negotiate distribution agreements, keep ownership records, and know the difference between immediate visibility and long-term monetary value.

Africa should not be satisfied with just sharing creativity while losing control over the assets that make it valuable.

AfCFTA and the Opportunity of a Continental Market

Another reason CANEX WKND is important is its connection to the African Continental Free Trade Area. Africa’s creative entrepreneurs need access to markets beyond their countries. The AfCFTA provides a way to boost intra-African trade, including trade in services. But having a trade agreement does not automatically remove the real barriers.

Different regulations, payment systems, customs processes, professional standards, distribution systems, and consumer markets can still make cross-border business hard. Language differences also need attention, especially when creative products move between Anglophone, Francophone, Lusophone, and Arabic-speaking markets.

CANEX WKND can help fill these gaps by bringing businesses together, promoting partnerships, and identifying practical challenges that policymakers need to tackle. The goal should be to create a more connected African market where talent, capital, services, and creative products can flow more easily. Such a market would also strengthen the continent’s position when dealing with international distributors, technology platforms, and investors.

Lagos Must Deliver More than Hospitality

Hosting CANEX WKND gives Nigeria a chance to show off its creative potential and solidify its role as a hub for African commerce and culture.

Lagos is a fitting location. Its music, film, fashion, publishing, advertising, entertainment, and technology industries create a base for collaboration between creatives and commercial partners. The city also offers international guests access to Nigerian entrepreneurs and a broader network of African businesses.

But the benefits of hosting a big international event shouldn't just be measured by how many people attend, hotel bookings, media coverage, or the presence of big names. Nigeria needs to ensure that local creative businesses engage meaningfully. Small and medium-sized enterprises should be able to meet potential buyers, gain technical skills, explore funding options, and form partnerships that last beyond the event. Up-and-coming artists and entrepreneurs should have chances to learn from experienced professionals and investors.

The government should also think about what happens after the delegates leave. Better coordination among relevant ministries, improved data on the industry, clearer regulations, and more accessible support for creative businesses would leave a more lasting legacy than just a successful four-day event.

This is especially important as Nigeria prepares to host the Intra-African Trade Fair in 2027. CANEX WKND can help build relationships and show the organizational skills needed for a larger continental trade event.

Technology and the Next Generation

Technology is changing the creative economy. Artificial intelligence, digital tools, online distribution, and new payment systems are altering how content is created, marketed, shared, and monetized.

For Africa’s young creative professionals, these changes bring chances to reach global audiences without relying on traditional barriers. But they also raise questions about copyright, consent, fair pay, data ownership, and how creative materials are used to train AI systems.

African policymakers and industry leaders must ensure that innovation does not infringe on the rights of those whose creativity gives these technologies value.

Investing in skills is also crucial. Training in production, design, digital marketing, business management, financial literacy, and intellectual property can help turn informal creative activities into successful businesses. Access to affordable internet, reliable power, suitable workspaces, and production facilities is still essential.

Nigeria’s ministers, Jumoke Oduwole (Investment, Trade and Industry) and Hannatu Musawa (Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy), have been strong supporters of a creative economy that is seen as a serious contributor to our economic growth.

Measuring Success Beyond the Spectacle

CANEX WKND is a great chance to celebrate African creativity, but the event’s most important results might not be seen on stage or the runway. The Lagos edition should create a clear way to measure success. Organizers and relevant institutions should report on the value of deals made, the funding actually provided, the number of businesses helped, the jobs created or maintained, the markets entered, and the cross-border contracts completed.

They should also track the outcomes for young people, women-led businesses, and emerging creative professionals. These indicators will give a clearer picture of whether CANEX is strengthening the creative economy or just creating temporary excitement.

A post-event scorecard, followed by regular progress updates, would help differentiate between announcements and completed deals and highlight areas where more work is needed. This kind of transparency would boost investor confidence and help policymakers figure out which funding methods bring the most economic benefit.

CANEX WKND 2026 presents a chance to push this agenda forward. Its importance lies in helping to create an economy where African stories, designs, performances, and ideas generate lasting value for African people.