Nigeria: CANEX WKND unveils 2026 programme

The event, organised under the African Export-Import Bank’s (Afreximbank) CANEX programme, will include exhibitions, masterclasses, investment forums, business pitching sessions, film screenings and live performances. Its programme also features initiatives focused on financing creative enterprises, intellectual property (IP) protection and access to international markets.

Running throughout the four days, the CANEX Exhibition will provide a platform for creative entrepreneurs, brands and businesses to exhibit and sell their products. Other exhibitions include Inheritance: Artists Across Generations, which will showcase established, mid-career and emerging visual artists, and Threads of a Nation, a fashion installation tracing more than 50 years of Nigerian fashion.

The programme will also include the CANEX Book Fair, the Luxury Fashion Xchange and a Creative Economy Technology Showcase and Innovation Lab highlighting African-led digital solutions for content creation, distribution and monetisation.

The CANEX Music Factory 2.0, scheduled for 5 to 7 November, will combine a music business lab with a songwriting camp. The CANEX Deal Room, also running from 5 to 7 November, will connect creative projects with potential financiers and investors.

Finance and investment will feature prominently in the programme, with sessions examining how creative businesses can secure funding and prepare for investment. These include Financing Creativity: Unlocking Investment in African IP, presented by CANEX Creations Inc., and a masterclass on becoming investment-ready through the MANSA platform and CAMELS framework.

The programme will also feature a deal-structure roundtable for bankers, investors and family offices, alongside creative pitch sessions in which small and medium-sized enterprises will present projects to financiers and industry experts.

Intellectual property will be another focus, with an IP Rights Summit examining ways to strengthen protection frameworks. Other sessions will address AI, animation, authorship and ethics, as well as the role of technology in reshaping creative industries.

The opening day will include workshops and masterclasses on short-form storytelling, podcasting, independent music branding, fashion business development, African textiles and the food export value chain. A Confederation of African Football (CAF) symposium will also form part of the programme.

On 6 November, the summit will open with remarks from representatives of the creative sector, a keynote address and a live performance. Discussions will include One Market, One Culture: Building the Creative Economy of Global Africa and Reimagining the Creative Industries through Technology and Innovation, which will examine the opportunities and challenges presented by artificial intelligence.

Music industry sessions will explore how genres such as Afrobeats, AfroTech, AfroHouse and amapiano are reaching international markets. The programme will also address African film distribution, performance art financing, sustainable pathways for African sporting talent, esports and gaming, and the repatriation of cultural heritage and intellectual property.

Film screenings will include The Lion Speaks: The Rise of Global Africa, while a separate programme will feature the 30 short films selected for CANEX Shorts 2026. Other scheduled screenings include ‘Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti’ and ‘I Do Not Come to You by Chance’.

Fashion will feature in the evening programme on 6 November, with the CANEX Fashion Show and Awards Night, including the 2026 CANEX Awards. A four-day CANEX Creative-Thon, powered by Gebeya, will bring participants together for an artificial intelligence-focused creative sprint, with a $50 000 prize pool.

Food and gastronomy will also feature throughout the event. Activities include the CANEX Junior Chefs Competition 2.0, which targets aspiring Nigerian chefs aged 16 to 21, the Africa Jollof Wars Competition 3.0 involving Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Cameroon, and demonstrations examining how African food businesses can expand into international markets.

The programme for 7 November includes the second day of the CANEX Music Factory songwriting camp, additional film screenings, food pop-ups and vendor competitions, cultural excursions around Lagos and the CANEX Legends Football Match. The schedule also lists the CANEX WKND 2026 concert.

The event’s broader programme is designed to connect creative practitioners with commercial partners and provide opportunities for professional development, investment and cross-sector collaboration. It brings together industries that intersect through intellectual property, technology, distribution, branding and international trade.

CANEX WKND is part of Afreximbank’s wider effort to support the growth of Africa's creative and cultural industries through financing, business development and market access.

The 2026 edition will take place in Lagos under the theme One People, United in Culture, Creating for the World: From FESTAC ‘77 to CANEX ‘27.

Register and book a stand at CANEX WKND 2026 in Lagos, Nigeria here and here.