CANEX WKND 2026: What Lagos can learn from Algiers

Hosting CANEX WKND provides Nigeria with an opportunity to demonstrate its creative capacity and strengthen its position as a meeting point for African commerce and culture.

Lagos is an appropriate setting for the forthcoming Creative Africa Nexus Weekend (CANEX WKND). Its music, film, fashion, publishing, advertising, entertainment and technology ecosystems provide a foundation for engagement between creative professionals and commercial partners. 

The city also offers international participants access to Nigerian entrepreneurs and a wider network of African businesses.

But the benefits of hosting a major international gathering should not be measured only by attendance, hotel occupancy, media coverage or the visibility of prominent personalities. Nigeria must ensure that local creative businesses participate meaningfully. 

Small and medium-sized enterprises should be able to meet prospective buyers, access technical expertise, explore financing and build partnerships that survive beyond the event. Emerging artists and entrepreneurs should have opportunities to learn from established professionals and investors.

The government should also consider what happens after the delegates leave. Improved coordination among relevant ministries, stronger industry data, clearer regulations and more accessible support for creative businesses would provide a more durable legacy than a successful four-day programme.

This matters particularly as Nigeria prepares to host the Intra-African Trade Fair in 2027. CANEX WKND can help build relationships and demonstrate the organisational capacity required for a larger continental trade gathering.

Lessons from the Algiers edition

The case for CANEX WKND is strengthened by the results recorded at its 2024 edition in Algiers, Algeria. 

Held from October 16 to 19, the gathering attracted nearly 4,000 participants from 81 countries, featured 108 exhibitors and facilitated and agreed deals valued at more than US$540 million, according to Afreximbank. These figures suggest that a creative economy platform can do more than bring artistes together; it can connect cultural production with finance, investment and commercial partnerships.

One of the most significant transactions was a €245 million global facility agreement with New World Television (NWTV) to part-finance its acquisition of sports broadcasting rights across 24 African countries. The agreement demonstrated the commercial value of sports content and the opportunities available when African businesses secure the resources to acquire and distribute premium media rights.

Afreximbank also announced a US$3 million financing facility for Mediwood Studios to support the expansion of Tunisia’s film industry. This targeted intervention highlighted the importance of financing production capacity, with potential implications for employment, skills development and the growth of a regional film ecosystem.

Another initiative, CANEX Presents the Angels, demonstrated how smaller creative enterprises could attract investment through direct engagement with potential backers. At the pitch session, angel investors committed US$350,000 to support three creative businesses. Cameroonian fashion designer Kibonen Nfi received a US$250,000 pledge from investor Moji Hunponu-Wusu, while a consortium committed a further US$100,000 towards investments involving Kibonen Nfi and Zimbabwean designers Pam Samasuwo-Nyawiri and Thulani Ngazimbi.

The event also invested in emerging African storytellers. CANEX Shorts selected three winners from 147 submissions for its short-film competition, with cash prizes awarded to filmmakers from Ghana, Kenya and Botswana. The CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa recognised Cassava Republic Press for Female Fear Factory, a book by Pumla Dineo Gqola.

These initiatives connected creative recognition with opportunities for professional development, financing and market exposure. They also demonstrated the breadth of the creative economy, from broadcasting and film production to fashion, publishing and short-form storytelling. This is why the Lagos edition should facilitate similar and bigger deals.

Afreximbank has committed US$2 billion to support Africa’s creative industries over the 2024–2027 period. The challenge is to ensure that the commitment translates into accessible finance, viable businesses, stronger production capacity and sustainable employment across the continent.

CANEX WKND 2026 should build on Algiers by demonstrating that the platform can facilitate transactions and help turn financial commitments into enduring economic outcomes.

From FESTAC ’77 to a commercial future

Nigeria’s hosting of CANEX WKND carries historical significance.

In 1977, Lagos hosted the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, popularly known as FESTAC ’77. The festival assembled artists, writers, musicians, performers and cultural representatives from Africa and the diaspora in a remarkable expression of Pan-African identity.

Culture journalist, enthusiast and practitioner, Jahman Anikulapo, who is also the Editorial Director of Naija Times, an online newspaper, says FESTAC demonstrated the capacity of culture to unite people across geographical boundaries and historical experiences. According to him, FESTAC also affirmed the importance of African heritage in a world where the continent’s stories were frequently interpreted through external perspectives. 

Almost half a century later, the central challenge has evolved. It is an opportunity for researchers to explore how Africa must preserve the spirit of cultural solidarity while building commercially sustainable creative industries. 

The approaching 50th anniversary of FESTAC in 2027 provides an opportunity to assess what has been achieved and what remains unfinished. 

Measuring success beyond the spectacle

CANEX WKND provides a valuable opportunity to celebrate African creativity, but the event’s most important achievements may not be visible on the concert stage or the fashion runway. The Lagos edition should establish a clear framework for measuring success. 

Organisers and relevant institutions should report the value of deals announced, the financing actually disbursed, the number of businesses supported, the jobs created or sustained, the markets entered and the cross-border contracts completed.

They should also track outcomes for young people, women-led enterprises and emerging creative professionals. These indicators would provide a clearer picture of whether CANEX is strengthening the foundations of the creative economy or merely generating temporary excitement.

A post-event scorecard, followed by periodic progress reports, would distinguish announcements from completed transactions and identify areas where further intervention is required. Such transparency would strengthen investor confidence and help policymakers determine which financing models produce the greatest economic value.

CANEX WKND 2026 offers an opportunity to advance that agenda. Its significance lies in helping to build an economy in which African stories, designs, performances and ideas generate sustainable value for African people.

Braimah is a PR specialist, marketing strategist, and publisher/editor-in-chief of Naija Times (www.ntm.ng) and Lagos Post (www.lagospost.ng). He is also a strong advocate of African prosperity and can be reached at [email protected]