LAGOS, Nigeria — Lagos is set to host Africa’s largest gathering of creative and cultural industries when the Creative Africa Nexus Weekend (CANEX WKND 2026) takes place from November 5 to 8.
The four-day event, hosted by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in partnership with Nigeria, the African Union Commission and the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, will bring together creatives, investors, policymakers, financiers, buyers and industry leaders from across Africa, the Caribbean and the wider diaspora.
CANEX WKND 2026 will be held at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts at the National Theatre Complex in Iganmu, Lagos.
Held under the theme “One People, United in Culture, Creating for the World: From FESTAC ’77 to CANEX’27,” the event will focus on supporting the development, commercialisation and expansion of 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 opportunities.
Among the major activities will be 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.
The CANEX Deal Room will give creative entrepreneurs and businesses an opportunity to present projects to financiers and investors, with the aim of strengthening commercially viable creative enterprises and developing sustainable value chains across Africa’s creative economy.
Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development at Afreximbank, said the event is intended to help turn Africa’s creative talent into sustainable commercial opportunities.
“CANEX WKND provides an important platform for converting Africa’s creative talent into sustainable commercial opportunities,” Awani said.
“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.”
Awani said hosting the event 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,” she said.
Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, said hosting CANEX WKND 2026 reinforces the country’s position as a major creative and commercial centre in Africa.
“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,” Oduwole said.
She said CANEX provides an opportunity to bring African and diaspora creatives, investors and businesses together while creating opportunities for stronger partnerships, greater market access and increased investment across the creative value chain.
The Lagos event will also draw on the legacy of FESTAC ’77, which brought together artists, writers, musicians and cultural leaders from Africa and the diaspora.
Nigeria is preparing to commemorate the 50th anniversary of FESTAC in 2027, creating an opportunity to connect that cultural legacy with the continued 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. The event attracted close to 4,000 participants from 81 countries.
Afreximbank has also committed US$2 billion to support Africa’s creative industries between 2024 and 2027, with the bank saying the investment reflects its commitment to strengthening the sector’s contribution to trade, enterprise development and employment across the continent.
The Lagos edition 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 expand commercial partnerships and access new markets.
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