Afreximbank targets $1 billion in creative economy deals at Lagos gathering. The African Export-Import Bank is targeting at least $1 billion in fresh investment commitments and financing facilities as it hosts the Creative Africa Nexus gathering in Lagos, seeking to channel institutional capital into the continent's rapidly expanding creative and cultural industries. The pan-African trade finance institution confirmed that the initiative, held under its flagship CANEX programme, brings together international financiers, private equity executives, venture capitalists, and commercial banks to close structured transactions across music, film, fashion, digital media, and intellectual property. According to transaction details outlined at the opening of CANEX WKND in Lagos, the multilateral lender intends to leverage its balance sheet alongside syndicate partners to de-risk investments in production facilities, distribution channels, and creative technology across several African markets. Afreximbank President Benedict Oramah stated that Africa's creative output possesses immense economic value, but the sector has historically faced structural barriers due to informal business structures and a persistent shortage of long-term commercial financing. Afreximbank launched the CANEX initiative in 2020 with an initial $500 million allocation, which was subsequently doubled to $1 billion as demand for credit expanded across the continent. The latest round of deal-making in Lagos aims to mobilise third-party capital from commercial lenders and sovereign wealth funds to match the bank's direct lending commitments. Financing discussions during the Lagos event focus on major infrastructure components required to monetise African creative output. Priority transactions include funding film production campuses, modern recording and post-production studios, fashion manufacturing hubs, and digital copyright distribution platforms capable of capturing revenues that typically leak to international intermediaries. Bridging collateral deficits and monetising intellectual property. A primary challenge facing African creative businesses has been the inability of traditional commercial banks to accept intellectual property as bankable collateral. Lenders across sub-Saharan Africa continue to favour physical real estate and tangible equipment when assessing credit risk, leaving software developers, filmmakers, and music producers starved of debt capital. To overcome this hurdle, Afreximbank has developed structured trade finance mechanisms that treat confirmed distribution contracts, royalties, and streaming revenues as cash-flow collateral. The approach allows producers to secure production loans against pre-sale distribution agreements signed with global streaming networks and regional broadcasters. Data published by UNESCO estimates that Africa's creative industries generate roughly $58 billion in annual economic activity while employing millions of young workers. However, analysts point out that the continent captures less than 3 percent of global creative economy earnings, largely due to fragmented value chains and limited domestic manufacturing capacity. In Nigeria, the commercial hub hosting the event, the creative sector represents one of the fastest-growing non-oil segments of the economy. The National Bureau of Statistics has consistently identified entertainment, media, and telecommunications as critical contributors to real gross domestic product growth, even as high interest rates and currency fluctuations restrict domestic bank lending. The transactions expected to close at the Lagos event will involve both direct debt facilities provided by Afreximbank and co-financing guarantees extended to local commercial banks. These risk-sharing instruments are designed to encourage domestic lenders in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa to broaden their exposure to creative enterprises without breaching regulatory exposure limits. Bank officials confirmed that negotiations covering multi-million-dollar distribution facilities and regional production studios will continue throughout the transaction sessions, with binding term sheets expected to be signed prior to the conclusion of the summit. November 2, 2026 November 3, 2026 In "Companies" Autochek, a Lagos-based startup which was recently launched by Etop Ikpe the former CEO of Cars45, has just raised the sum of $3.4 million. November 18, 2020 In "Deals and Investment"

Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) WKND 2026 opens in Lagos, bringing together leading African and diaspora creatives, investors and policymakers. aalqali November 5, 2026 You may also like. Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) WKND 2026 has opened today in Lagos, bringing together leading creatives, investors, policymakers, business leaders and cultural figures from across Africa and the diaspora for four days of conversations, deal-making, performances, exhibitions and industry-focused sessions. Hosted by the Federal Government of Nigeria and organised by African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) through its Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme, this year's event runs from 5 to 8 November under the theme "One People, United in Culture, Creating for the World." The 2026 programme spans film and television, music, fashion, sport, literature and publishing, gastronomy and visual arts, with a strong focus on finance, intellectual property, technology, skills, investment and market access. Across the four-day programme, CANEX WKND will provide platforms for deal-making, industry dialogue and sector-specific engagement, including the CANEX Deal Room, with the aim of turning creative talent and ideas into stronger businesses, partnerships and commercial opportunities. That ambition reflects the evolution of Afreximbank's commitment to Africa's creative and cultural industries in 2020, subsequently doubling this to US$1 billion before quadrupling the original commitment financing available to US$2 billion. Buy Maps The expansion reflects Afreximbank's wider objective of helping African creators and creative businesses build scalable enterprises, strengthen ownership of intellectual property and retain more of the economic value generated by African culture and creativity. The opening ceremony is expected to feature addresses by Ministers of Culture and Creative Industries across 11 African countries, Dr George Elombi, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, H.E. Dr Olajumoke Omoniyi Oduwole, Nigeria's Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, and H.E. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State among other dignitaries. The programme will bring together some of Africa and the diaspora's most influential cultural and industry figures. Participants include Nobel Laureate, writer and playwright Professor Wole Soyinka; Emmy Award-winning actor Uzo Aduba; filmmaker and actor Funke Akindele; actors Richard Mofe-Damijo and Thuso Mbedu; former professional footballers Didier Drogba and Jay-Jay Okocha; alongside leading figures from Africa's music, film, fashion, sport and creative business sectors. Buy Maps The event will also include performances and appearances from musicians and entertainers such as Davido, Fally Ipupa, Flavour, Libianca and Charlotte Dipanda, reflecting CANEX WKND's combination of industry engagement with live cultural programming. Beyond the headline names, the programme places a strong emphasis on the business of Africa's creative economy. On 6 November, a high-level conversation titled "One Market, One Culture: Building the Creative Economy of Global Africa" will examine the steps required to convert the growing global influence of African culture into stronger creative businesses, exports and investment. Speakers include Professor Wole Soyinka; ministers responsible for culture and the arts from Côte d'Ivoire, South Africa and Rwanda; International Finance Corporation representatives; and from Afreximbank. Financing will also be central to the programme. The Creative Economy Finance Summit, presented by Afreximbank in partnership with the Creative Economy Practice at Co-Creation Hub, will bring financial institutions and investors together to examine how creative-economy transactions can be structured, financed and de-risked. CANEX Creations Inc. will lead discussions on unlocking investment in African intellectual property, while the CANEX Deal Room and Creative Pitch Sessions will connect creative entrepreneurs directly with financiers and investors considering opportunities across film and television, music, fashion, sport, publishing, gastronomy, visual arts and creative infrastructure. Technology and the changing economics of creative production will feature prominently. Sessions will examine artificial intelligence, authorship and intellectual property; the use of technology to reshape creative businesses; and how African creators can use digital tools to develop globally competitive products. Buy Maps The CANEX CreaThon, delivered with pan-African technology company Gebeya, will bring creators, developers and innovators together around projects in music, video and gaming, supported by African-built digital tools, mentorship, computing resources and a US$50,000 prize pool. Film and television programming will explore both storytelling and the commercial infrastructure required to take African content to wider audiences. Sessions include "Stories Without Borders: Africa, Hollywood & the Global Diaspora", featuring former Afreximbank President Professor Benedict Oramah, and "Made in Africa, Watched in Africa", which will examine research into film distribution, audiences and financing across Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa. Sport will form another major strand of CANEX WKND 2026. Discussions will examine athlete development, management, commercialisation and the links between sport and the broader creative economy. Didier Drogba and Jay-Jay Okocha are scheduled to participate in "When Giants Speak: The Business of the Game," while the weekend will conclude with a Legends Football Match at Onikan Stadium on 8 November. Fashion programming will include masterclasses on building profitable African brands, textile value chains, market access and intellectual property, alongside the CANEX Fashion Show and Awards Night. In gastronomy, the CANEX Junior Chefs Competition, Africa Jollof Wars Competition and a series of live demonstrations and conversations will explore how African food, ingredients and culinary traditions can become stronger commercial propositions across domestic, continental and global markets. Publishing and literature will feature through the CANEX Book Factory, Book Fair, writers' workshops, manuscript pitching and the CANEX Prize for Publishing, while visual arts programming will combine exhibitions, collector engagement and practical sessions for artists navigating Africa's growing art ecosystem. On 7 November, CANEX WKND 2026 will host a major concert bringing together artists from across Africa and the diaspora, before the programme continues into its final day on 8 November with cultural excursions, gastronomy activities, the CANEX Music Factory Songwriting Camp and the Legends Football Game. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank. Media Contact: Vincent Musumba Communications and Events Manager (Media Relations) Email: [email protected] About Afreximbank: African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade. For over 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa's trade, accelerating industrialisation and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A strong supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank has set up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2025, Afreximbank's total assets and contingencies stood at over US$48.5 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$8.4 billion. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by China Chengxin International Credit Rating Co., Ltd (CCXI) (AAA), GCR (A), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-), Moody's (Baa2) and S&P Global Ratings (BBB+). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt. Post Views: 1

AFIS 2026: AfDB's Dr Sidi Ould Tah calls on Africa's financial sector to respond to urgent needs of continent's businesses. 05-Nov-2026 AfDB President Sidi Ould Tah urged African finance to keep time with business at AFIS 2026 in Luanda. "For the continent's financial strength to translate into economic power, African financial institutions must keep pace with the businesses they serve," African Development Bank Group President Dr Sidi Ould Tah said at the opening of the Africa Financial Summit (AFIS) in Luanda on 3 November. In his keynote address, President Ould Tah presented the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD) as a framework aimed at strengthening collaboration between institutions in Africa's financial system. NAFAD is a coordination initiative designed to rethink the way capital is mobilised and risks are shared within the African financial ecosystem. President Ould Tah highlighted the disconnect between the timeframe of financial institutions, governed by reporting cycles, investment horizons and processing times, and that of businesses, measured in terms of business cycles, order fulfilment and talent retention. This disconnects, he argued, is one of the main causes of lost economic growth in Africa. He noted that the lack of coordination between institutions with shared responsibilities means that no single institution is seen to have failed, even as jobs go uncreated, farmers lose access to markets and countries import goods that could be produced locally. He called on financial institutions to bridge this gap by simplifying their processes, improving operational coordination and adapting financial instruments to the realities faced by businesses, particularly SMEs. Dr Ould Tah added that NAFAD equips national, regional and continental institutions with a common framework that enables them to reinforce one another's core strengths, while respecting their respective mandates and the principles of subsidiarity and complementarity. He cautioned against the temptation to view the assets of the African financial system "as available liquidity just waiting to be spent". These assets, he said, "have different owners, obligations and time horizons". Improving coordination for capital mobilisation. In remarks, the Angolan Minister of State for Economic Coordination, José de Lima Massano, said that economic transformation depends on the quality, depth and efficiency of Africa's financial systems. "These institutions are capital multipliers, investment catalysts and key partners in economic transformation," said Massano, referring to the continent's multilateral financial institutions. "We must continue to strengthen their capacity to mobilise resources and improve coordination with national financial systems." Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) said that his institution was collaborating with several African partners, including the African Development Bank Group, Afreximbank and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). Praising Dr Ould Tah's commitment to the continent's development, Diop noted: "We are working together, and no one is more determined to drive Africa forward." He added that the IFC and the African Development Bank Group were in joint discussions with African sovereign wealth funds and institutional investors to mobilise long-term resources and channel them into productive sectors. He also proposed the establishment in each country of a private sector council tasked with identifying areas requiring reform and advising governments on the implementation of reform legislation. A commitment to results. Dr Ould Tah also cautioned against treating Africa's demographic dividend "as if it were already credited to an account". "We have to earn it," he said, through investment in education, skills and productive employment. He disclosed that the Bank Group is streamlining its processes so that clients clearly understand what is required of them, who is responsible for each stage and how long decisions will take. "You should judge us by our ability to deliver tangible results, both in the implementation of projects and in the lives of people," he said. The African Development Bank Group is one of the main partners of AFIS 2026, which took place in the Angolan capital on 3 and 4 November. The Bank Group hosted a side event on "Making the most of NAFAD to boost Africa's real economy", focusing on mobilising capital, improving project preparation and accelerating project implementation. Olufemi Terry, Department of Communications and External Relations, [email protected]