The Creative Africa Nexus CANEX is a flagship initiative of Afreximbank, launched in 2019 to accelerate the development and monetisation of Africa's vibrant creative and cultural industries. It is not a separate subsidiary or a strategic business unit SBU, but rather a high-impact programme embedded within the Bank's Creatives and Diaspora Department.
CANEX was purposefully designed to leverage the full power of the Bank's ecosystem - its financial instruments, strategic partnerships, and institutional influence - to address the unique needs of creative entrepreneurs. Its focus spans fashion, film, music, publishing, visual arts, gastronomy, and even emerging sectors like e-sports and gaming.
The programme is both pan-African and global, reaching across the diaspora under Afreximbank's broader Global Africa Strategy. Through CANEX, the Bank is not only unlocking economic potential but also repositioning African and diasporic creativity as globally tradable, commercially viable assets.
Why is the creative economy important to Africa and the diaspora?The creative economy is one of Africa's most dynamic and inclusive growth frontiers. With an estimated value between 4.2bn and 5bn annually, it serves as a powerful engine for job creation, youth empowerment, gender inclusion, and soft power projection.
However, the sector remains vastly undercapitalised and underserved. That's where CANEX intervenes - by offering specialised financing, building technical capacity, enhancing market access, and supporting the commercialisation and protection of intellectual property. Our goal is to empower creatives to produce globally competitive content that generates income and preserves cultural identity. For the diaspora, the creative economy is both a connector and a conduit - a bridge to the continent that allows for cultural exchange, investment, and collaboration. CANEX creates the platforms and instruments that enable African culture to move freely across borders and into international markets.