The African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced plans to mobilise nearly $1 billion for a Pan African film fund aimed at strengthening the continent’s creative industry and expanding its global reach.
The bank’s Executive Vice President for Intra African Trade and Export Development, Kanayo Awani, disclosed the plan while delivering the opening remarks at the 2026 Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) Summit in Lagos.
According to Awani, the bank’s investment arm, the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), has signed a co general partnership agreement with One Street Studios to raise up to $1 billion for the proposed fund.
She explained that the initiative forms part of a wider investment drive to address the challenges facing Africa’s creative economy and establish the continent as a major centre for global film production and distribution.
Awani noted that the industry continues to struggle with limited access to finance, weak distribution channels, fragmented markets and inadequate protection of intellectual property. She said Afreximbank’s strategy was designed to tackle these problems while creating more opportunities for African creators and businesses.
“The creative economy is no longer peripheral. It is part of Africa’s development story. It is a trade sector, an investment opportunity, and a strategic asset capable of generating jobs, foreign exchange and global influence at scale,” she said.
She further revealed that Afreximbank, through its subsidiary, Creative Africa Investments, had approved six investments in projects covering film, television, music and digital content.
Awani stressed that the investments were not limited to funding individual productions but were intended to support intellectual property platforms capable of delivering lasting benefits to creators and investors.
She added that the proposed fund would support the production of African content, improve distribution networks, develop relevant technologies and provide the infrastructure needed to make the continent more competitive in the global creative market.
Earlier at the summit, the Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, represented by veteran actress Joke Silva, called for stronger protection of African creative works and closer cooperation among industry stakeholders.
Silva said African artists and other creative professionals needed effective systems to protect their intellectual property and ensure they received fair economic returns from their work.
She also recalled how the National Theatre in Lagos was saved from further deterioration through a partnership involving Nigerian banks. According to her, the intervention showed the importance of institutions working together to preserve valuable cultural assets.
Silva maintained that African countries must take greater responsibility for protecting their creative works rather than relying on foreign governments to safeguard their interests.
“The protection of our work lies with our continent. We cannot blame other countries for using our works anyhow they please. They will protect their own, we must protect our own,” she said.
