Afreximbank Announces $118 Million Package for Nigeria’s Creative Economy

The African Export-Import Bank has announced a $118 million financing package for Nigeria’s creative economy, with the funding aimed at helping businesses expand production, safeguard intellectual property and compete in international markets.

The announcement was made at Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) WKND 2026 in Lagos. The event was organised by Afreximbank through its Creative Africa Nexus programme and hosted by Nigeria’s Federal Government in partnership with the African Union Commission and the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat.

Three-part financing package

According to Afreximbank, the package includes a $75 million facility involving the bank and the Development Bank of Nigeria, a separate $30 million financing arrangement, and a $13 million grant involving the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria and Afreximbank.

The terms, interest rates, eligibility requirements and disbursement schedule for the facilities were not provided. The announcement also did not specify how many businesses are expected to benefit.

Professor Wole Soyinka highlighted the importance of linking creative ambition with financial support. “You can’t move A to B without a thorough contribution, a dynamic relationship between vision and financing,” he said.

Calls for specialised lending and stronger protections

Discussions at the Lagos event also focused on challenges that financing by itself may not resolve. These included barriers to cross-border movement, weak intellectual property protection, limited lender expertise and inadequate routes to market.

Nathalie Kouassi Akon, IFC Advisors’ Division Director for the West Africa Gulf of Guinea, said many creative businesses do not fit conventional lending models. Their value may be based on intellectual property, licensing rights or projected revenue rather than physical assets that can be used as collateral.

Ben Murray-Bruce, founder of media company Silverbird Group, proposed that governments reserve 2.5 per cent of all loans for the creative sector. The proposal was not presented as an existing lending requirement. He also encouraged creative professionals to become more involved in politics, saying, “You must take a political position and run for office.”

The broader discussions linked creative-sector growth to the objectives of the AfCFTA, including the movement of people, products and services across the continent.

Movement and intellectual property remain concerns

Sandrine Umutoni, Rwanda’s Minister of State for Youth and Arts, said administrative and institutional obstacles continue to affect the movement of performers, designers, filmmakers, people and goods between African countries.

“Some of those barriers [are] just the mindset,” Umutoni said, arguing that political commitments to continental integration must be reflected in the daily work of officials processing arrivals and clearing goods.

She also warned that inadequate attention to intellectual property could prevent African creators from receiving revenue generated by their work. Umutoni urged governments and creative professionals to understand the protections available to them.

Prospects for Africa-Caribbean trade

Ginger Mariah Moxey, Minister for Grand Bahamas, pointed to an African-Caribbean marketplace and logistics centre being developed with Afreximbank. The proposed platform is intended to connect African businesses with Caribbean buyers and make cross-border transactions easier, although it remains under development and no completion date or operating details were provided.

“This is what it’s all about. It’s about connecting the dots. It’s about talking to each other,” Moxey said. She also described potential cooperation between producers in Ghana and partners in the Bahamas, saying, “So it’s made in Africa and made in the Bahamas.”