Vice-President Kashim Shettima has challenged African countries to transform their growing global cultural influence into sustainable economic wealth.

Mr Shettima made the call on Thursday at the opening of the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) Weekend 2026 in Lagos.

The event was held at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, National Theatre, Iganmu.

He said Africa must move beyond celebrating its creative achievements to building industries that generate jobs, attract investment and expand international trade.

Mr Shettima said President Bola Tinubu’s administration was strengthening intellectual property protection and expanding access to finance for creative enterprises.

He added that the administration was positioning Nigeria to benefit from opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The vice-president restated that Africa must translate its creative talents and global recognition into lasting economic prosperity.

“In 1977, we came to celebrate our culture. Today, we have come to capitalise on it by turning the world’s applause into contracts and its admiration into markets. We must also turn the talent of our young people into enduring wealth,” he said.

Mr Shettima said Nigeria’s global influence in film, music, fashion and literature must be matched by deliberate investment, stronger institutions and access to international markets.

According to the vice-president, Nigeria’s hosting of CANEX Weekend for the first time recognises the country’s growing influence in the creative economy.

“Our duty as a government is to match this recognition with appropriate policies. Through the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Ministry of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, we are strengthening intellectual property protection.

“We are also widening access to finance for creative enterprises and positioning Nigeria to lead creative trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area. Creativity is now a trade sector, and we intend to treat it as one,” he said.

The vice-president commended the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) for its commitment to financing Africa’s creative enterprises.

He stated that the 2024 CANEX gathering in Algiers attracted nearly 4,000 participants from 81 countries and facilitated deals worth more than $540 million.

Mr Shettima disclosed that Afreximbank had committed $2 billion to Africa’s creative industries through 2027. He described the investment as evidence of the sector’s growing economic importance.

Mr Shettima urged African governments to dismantle barriers restricting creative trade across the continent. He highlighted the need to make African films, music and other cultural products more accessible across national borders.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu described Nigeria’s hosting of CANEX Weekend 2026 as further recognition of Lagos as a major centre of Africa’s creative economy. He said the event’s return to the National Theatre, which hosted activities during FESTAC ’77, underscored Lagos’ longstanding role in promoting African arts and culture.

Mr Sanwo-Olu said the gathering’s theme highlighted cultural unity and the need to translate Africa’s global creative appeal into markets, investment and wealth.

Trade and investment minister Jumoke Oduwole said Nigeria’s creative industry had achieved significant international recognition. She cited Davido’s performances at London’s O2 Arena, Burna Boy’s Grammy Award and Universal Music Group’s investment in Mavin Records as evidence of the industry’s commercial potential.

Mr Oduwole said the Tinubu administration was prioritising policies that would enable Nigerian creatives to retain greater economic value from their work.

(NAN)