Register for FREE to Attend the Creative Africa Nexus Weekend (CANEX WKND 2022) in Abidjan | November 25th –27th

The Creative Africa Nexus Weekend (CANEX WKND), a 3-day gathering of creatives from Africa and the Diaspora, has been scheduled for November 25–27, 2022, with some sessions holding on the 24th, ahead of the official opening.

The event, which will take place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, will bring together music artists like Yemi Alade, investors, industry leaders, creative industry businesses, and government representatives. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with and learn from some of Africa’s and its diaspora’s leading voices in music, film, fashion, crafts, visual arts, literature, gaming, VR, and more.

The event, hosted by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the African Union, and the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, serves as a prelude to the next Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) Summit at IATF2023. This will be another important step in Afreximbank’s ongoing roll-out and implementation of its CANEX program, which is a multifaceted effort to support and grow Africa’s new creative sector.

In addition to showing off their fashion, art, and crafts in a dynamic marketplace, attendees can take advantage of a number of networking opportunities, meetings with potential business partners, panel discussions, in-depth break-out masterclasses, and other events.

Anyone from Africa or the diaspora who wants to be a part of the creative and cultural industry in Africa can attend this event. To register, click here. Registration is free but please note that you will need to cover the cost of your travel to Abidjan and accommodation.

Masterclasses are a major element of CANEX WKND, with intensive breakaway sessions commencing ahead of the official event opening on Friday 25 November, with a range of sessions starting on Thursday 24 November:

• The Intellectual Property Sessions (Nov 24): Facilitated by Liz Lenjo, IP Expert (Kenya)
  * The emerging IP regime on the continent; implications for creatives scaling across the continent — United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Session.
  * Identifying the Intellectual Property — Assessing and identifying IP bundles in animation, comic, gaming, fashion and music.
  * Film IP: Legal Compliance — Chain of title; Types of Contracts in Film – co-creation, production, rights clearances, distribution etc.
  * The contribution of contracts to IP securitization with financial institutions.
• Creative Writing Masterclass (Nov 24):
  * Presented by The Narrative Landscape Press and The James & Grace Adichie Foundation, in partnership with The Society of Book & Magazine Editors, and The Jalada Africa Collective.
• The Creative Economy Practice at CcHUB presents the 3rd session of its African Creative Economy Investor MasterClass Series (Nov 24 – 25):
  The Creative Economy Practice at CcHUB presents the 3rd session of its African Creative Economy Investor MasterClass Series (Nov 24 – 25): This session is a two-day intensive, in-person workshop that will be held during Afreximbank’s Creative Africa Nexus in Abidjan on the 24th and 25th of November. The workshop fee is $750, which will cover the cost of the two-day workshop, materials, tea break, and lunches on both days. Access to CANEX delegate activities will also be available as part of the package. It is open to existing fund managers, including Angel Investors and networks, Venture Capital Funds, Syndicate Funds and Members, Private Equity Funds, and Impact Funds.
• Developing and Investing in the African Visual Arts Ecosystem (Nov 25):
  Facilitated by the Bruce Onobrakpeya Foundation.
• CANEX presents Fashion with Pathe’O (Nov 25):
  A fireside chat with the legendary Ivorien-Burkinabé designer, Ainé Pathé Ouédraogo, uncovering his start and progression in the industry as well as his thoughts on the development of the African fashion industry. The fireside chat will be followed by a masterclass helmed by Pathe’O.
• Festival Management Workshop –presented by The Ladima Foundation (Nov 25 & 27):
  In the last two decades, there has been a rapid increase in the number of festivals on offer worldwide, the marketplace for film festivals is now a global one and competition for audiences and funding is greater than ever. The workshop will show festivals how to ensure sustainability by developing and using critical assets such as intellectual, cultural, social, experiential and human capital as unique currencies that can be shared in a collaborative manner that focuses on festivals building strategic collective advantage.
• The Design Futures Lab – Exploring the intersection of sustainable fashion and XR; and Masterclass on Augmented Reality (Nov 25):
  The Design Futures Lab is the first of its kind. It is a creative economy project hosted by Electric South, Twyg, and Crossover. The British Council will talk about the results of the Design Futures Lab and dive into the learning with one of the teams. This will be followed by an Augmented Reality workshop led by Kym Fiala and Ntando Ngwenya. Kym and Ntando collaborated on The XV Algorythm.

More information on all sessions and schedule can be found here.

For more information, follow @CreativeAfricaNexus