Vice President Kashim Shettima on Thursday called on African governments and investors to convert the continent’s cultural influence into commercial value, opening a four-day creative-industry conference with a message that Africa’s artists should leave with contracts – not applause alone.
Speaking at the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, Shettima said the Tinubu administration would strengthen intellectual-property protection, broaden financing for creative firms and position Nigeria to capture more trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communication Stanley Nkwocha, the Vice President said “Creativity is now a trade sector, and we intend to treat it as one.”
The event returns to the National Theatre complex, the site of the 1977 Festival of Arts and Culture, known as FESTAC, which celebrated African cultural identity.
Vice President Shettima described the contrast in economic terms: “In 1977, we came to celebrate our culture. In 2026, we come to capitalise it.”
CANEX 2026, organized by Afreximbank with Nigeria, the African Union and the AfCFTA Secretariat, runs through November 8 and brings together creatives, investors, policymakers and buyers from Africa, the Caribbean and the diaspora.
Its programme spans film, music, fashion, publishing, gastronomy and sport, with a stated focus on connecting talent to finance, markets and distribution.
Afreximbank has committed $2 billion to Africa’s creative industries through 2027, according to Shettima.
The bank’s 2024 CANEX gathering in Algiers drew nearly 4,000 participants from 81 countries and facilitated more than $540 million in deals, he said.
The Lagos programme includes a finance summit and a Deal Room intended to match investment-ready creative and digital businesses with lenders and investors.
Nigeria’s government-backed iDICE programme, a $617 million initiative, is among the official Deal Room partners and plans structured meetings between entrepreneurs and financiers.
Minister of Industry, Investment and Trade Jumoke Oduwole in her remarks, cited Nigerian music and film successes, including Davido’s performances at London’s O2 Arena, Burna Boy’s Grammy Award and Universal Music Group’s investment in Mavin Records, as evidence that Nigerian creative output can attract global capital.
She said the government is working to unlock more than $600 million in financing for digital and creative enterprises.
Vice President Shettima had also pressed African governments to reduce barriers that keep films, music and other cultural products from moving freely across the continent.
“Do not leave Lagos with memories alone,” he told creators.
“Leave with a signed term sheet, a distribution deal, a buyer’s handshake.”
The gathering is intended to lay groundwork for the fifth Intra-African Trade Fair, scheduled for Lagos in 2027, where officials expect investment agreements and commercial partnerships to further develop intra-African creative trade.
