Global Africa Gateway Advances Diaspora Partnerships at 2026 CANEX WKND

Global Africa Gateway in partnership with Afreximbank, advanced its diaspora engagement agenda at the 2026 Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX WKND) in Lagos, highlighting the role of international networks and institutional partnerships in growing Africa’s creative economy.

Held from November 5 to 8 at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, CANEX WKND brought together over 15,000 delegates, including policymakers, investors, financial institutions, entrepreneurs and creatives from Africa, the Caribbean and the wider diaspora.

The Global Africa Gateway’s engagement at CANEX WKND focused on connecting emerging African creators and businesses to diaspora professionals, investors and institutions that can support their growth and access to international markets.

Through its ecosystem partner, Baobab Consulting, the Global Africa Gateway engaged independent game developers, entertainment entrepreneurs, actors and other emerging creatives, highlighting opportunities beyond the established names in Africa’s creative industries.

Vance Whitfield, Director of the Global Africa Gateway and Diaspora Strategy at The Africa Center, New York, said the Gateway’s strategy with Afreximbank is to work with diaspora institutions, including philanthropies, investor networks, research partners and diaspora-led municipalities, to develop initiatives that bring more expertise, talent and capital into African economies.

“We are examining several pilots where we hope to bring in Afreximbank seed funding to unlock more sophisticated Diaspora-Africa engagement, including a Diaspora–African stock exchange challenge and a Nigerian Diaspora digital investment platform supported in partnership with a leading Nigerian bank,” Whitfield noted.

The engagement aligned with CANEX’s broader focus on strengthening the business foundations of Africa’s creative industries.

Afreximbank has committed US$2 billion through 2027 to support the continent’s creative and cultural sectors.

Discussions at CANEX also highlighted the need for stronger intellectual property protection, distribution networks and market access to ensure that African creators retain more of the value generated by their work.

For the Global Africa Gateway, these priorities reinforce the importance of connecting diaspora resources and expertise to credible opportunities across the continent.

Lagos provided a strategic setting for this engagement, bringing local talent and businesses into contact with international partners and markets.

Participation in the Global Africa Gateway builds on a wider mandate to connect entrepreneurs, investors, professionals, institutional partners and students with opportunities across Africa, turning diaspora connections into lasting partnerships that support investment, trade and economic participation.