African Leaders Call for Greater Financing, Market Access for Creative Industries

November 9, 2026 | By Semahegn Nigatu

African leaders and industry executives have called for increased financing, stronger intellectual property protection and improved distribution networks to help the continent capture more economic value from its creative industries.

The call came at the opening of Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) WKND 2026 in Lagos, Nigeria, where participants discussed ways to turn the continent's cultural influence into commercially viable businesses and expand access to international markets.

Opening the four-day gathering on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice-President Kashim Shettima said Africa needed to move beyond global recognition of its cultural output towards building competitive creative businesses.

"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 improved access to African markets for the continent's creative businesses, arguing that restrictions on intra-African trade limited opportunities for local creators.

"We cannot continue to celebrate African creativity while making it difficult for African creators to access African markets," he said.

Afreximbank has committed 2 billion US dollars through 2027 to support Africa's creative and cultural industries, building on previous financing commitments as demand for funding in the sector increases.

The 2024 edition of CANEX WKND in Algiers attracted participants from 81 countries and facilitated more than 540 million US dollars in trade and investment deals. In Nigeria, more than 600 million US dollars in financing is being unlocked for digital and creative enterprises through the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises programme, known as iDICE.

Nigeria's Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, said proposed transactions worth more than 500 million US dollars were already under discussion between Nigerian entrepreneurs, buyers and investors in deal rooms organised jointly with Afreximbank during the event.

"We promised to bring buyers and investors here. Today, Nigerian creatives are negotiating with them in Lagos," she said, adding that the government's ambition was to facilitate deals across sectors including sports, gaming, creative technology, infrastructure, arts and gastronomy.

Nigeria has introduced measures aimed at strengthening the investment environment for creative businesses. These include its first National Intellectual Property Policy and Strategy, approved in 2025, and the Creative Sector Investment Playbook, launched in January 2026 to guide investment in areas such as studios, content production and distribution.

The country is also a co-champion, alongside Kenya and South Africa, of the African Continental Free Trade Area Protocol on Digital Trade.

Afreximbank President and Chairman George Elombi said increasing production financing alone would not enable African countries to retain a greater share of the value generated by their creative industries without investment in the wider ecosystem.

Citing estimates from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Elombi put the continent's creative economy at approximately 60 billion US dollars, equivalent to around 2 percent of the global creative industry.

"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.

He identified distribution, branding, marketing platforms and intellectual property ownership as areas requiring greater investment to improve the continent's share of revenue from creative products.

CANEX WKND 2026 is bringing together more than 15,000 delegates, including government representatives, investors, financial institutions, creators and businesses from Africa, the Caribbean and the wider diaspora.

The four-day programme includes a deal room, a Creative Economy Finance Summit, producer and music accelerators, book and music production initiatives, and discussions covering film and television, fashion, sport, literature, publishing, gastronomy, visual arts and technology.

Source: FSX Business News