By Abdi Ali
Published October 19 2024
Afreximbank is set to increase its funding to its creative economy programme known as Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX), from US$1 billion to US$2 billion for the next three years.
The bank says the decision to double CANEX funding arises from a marked surge in demand across Africa’s creative sectors. Since 2022, Afreximbank says it has seen a significant increase in opportunities within industries from film production and music to fashion manufacturing and sports.
This expansion marks a historic progression in Afreximbank’s strategy to support the creative economy – from the Bank’s initial commitment of US$500 million to the sector when CANEX launched in 2020. That figure increased to US$1 billion in 2022 to satisfy demand.
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Commenting on the funding decision, Prof. Oramah said:
“As with many things in Africa, opportunities in the African creative industries abound but remain untapped. This is why Afreximbank has adopted a proactive approach to catalysing the industry. Today, I am pleased to announce a further doubling of our creative industry finance window to 2 billion US dollars for the next three years. This will enable us to support significant infrastructure investments for film production, stadia, arenas, manufacturing facilities for fashion, and training centres,” Prof Oramah, Chair of Afreximbank, says.
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The new funding, Afreximbank says, will focus on infrastructure development in film production facilities, music arenas, sports stadiums and fashion manufacturing hubs across the continent withthe aim of equipping Africans with the necessary tools and spaces to produce content and goods that can compete internationally.
