Africa’s creative economy is seeking a stronger foothold in global markets, with industry leaders calling for increased investment, intellectual property protection and better distribution networks to help African creators turn cultural influence into sustainable businesses and wealth.
The call took centre stage as the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) WKND 2026 opened in Lagos, Nigeria, bringing together government officials, investors, financial institutions, entrepreneurs and creatives to explore ways of expanding the continent’s creative industries.
Opening the four-day gathering on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, challenged African countries to move beyond celebrating cultural heritage and focus on building commercially competitive creative enterprises.
“In 1977, we came to celebrate our culture. In 2026, we come to capitalise on it. We come to turn the world’s applause into contracts, its admiration into markets, and the talent of our young people into enduring wealth,” he said.
Shettima also called for the removal of barriers limiting trade in creative goods and services across African countries, arguing that the continent must create stronger regional markets for its musicians, filmmakers, fashion designers, authors and digital entrepreneurs.
“We cannot continue to celebrate African creativity while making it difficult for African creators to access African markets,” he said.
Financing remains a major priority in efforts to transform Africa’s creative potential into a commercially viable industry. The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has committed US$2 billion through 2027 to support the continent’s creative and cultural industries.
The financing builds on growing demand for investment in music, film, fashion, publishing, sports, digital content and other creative enterprises.
The commercial potential of the sector was demonstrated at CANEX WKND 2024 in Algiers, which attracted participants from 81 countries and facilitated more than US$540 million in trade and investment deals.
Nigeria is also unlocking more than US$600 million in financing for digital and creative enterprises through its Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) programme, reflecting growing recognition of the sector as a source of jobs, exports and economic diversification.
Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, said proposed transactions worth more than US$500 million were already under discussion between Nigerian entrepreneurs, international buyers and investors through deal rooms organised in partnership with Afreximbank.
“We promised to bring buyers and investors here. Today, Nigerian creatives are negotiating with them in Lagos. Our ambition is a deal for every part of the creative economy, from sports and gaming to creative technology and infrastructure, the arts and gastronomy,” Oduwole said.
Beyond financing, Nigeria is strengthening the policy and regulatory environment for creative businesses. Measures include its first National Intellectual Property Policy and Strategy, approved in 2025, and the Creative Sector Investment Playbook launched in January 2026 to guide investments in studios, content production and distribution infrastructure.
Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa are also co-champions of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Protocol on Digital Trade, an initiative expected to support cross-border digital commerce and create opportunities for African creative businesses to reach wider markets.
However, Afreximbank President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr George Elombi, warned that increased production financing alone would not guarantee that Africa benefits fully from the economic value generated by its creative industries.
Citing estimates from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Elombi said the continent’s creative economy was valued at approximately US$60 billion, representing about two per cent of the global creative industry.
He argued that African countries must invest in the entire creative value chain, particularly intellectual property ownership, branding, marketing and distribution, where significant economic value is generated.
“We can put these financing schemes into music and movie productions. Yet the value we derive will still be low. We must therefore focus on building the creative ecosystem,” he said.
His remarks highlight a longstanding challenge facing African creators: producing globally recognised music, films, fashion and cultural content without necessarily controlling the distribution channels, commercial rights and intellectual property that determine long-term earnings.
CANEX WKND 2026 is bringing together more than 15,000 delegates from Africa, the Caribbean and the wider diaspora, providing a platform for partnerships between creative entrepreneurs, investors, governments and international markets.
The programme features the CANEX Deal Room, Creative Economy Finance Summit, African Producer Accelerator, CANEX Music Factory, CANEX Book Factory and CANEX CreaThon, alongside sessions covering film and television, music, fashion, sports, literature, publishing, gastronomy, visual arts and technology.
The gathering comes amid growing efforts to position Africa’s cultural and creative industries as strategic drivers of economic transformation, youth employment, tourism, exports and global influence.
For the continent, the challenge is increasingly shifting from showcasing its creative talent to building the financing systems, intellectual property frameworks and distribution infrastructure needed to ensure African businesses own, commercialise and retain a greater share of the value they create.
