Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX), an intervention by African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced the third edition of its vibrant short film competition, CANEX Shorts, that is designed to recognise and celebrate talents of young filmmakers from Africa and the Diaspora.
Filmmakers between the ages of 18 and 35 years can enter the competition for a chance to win a cash prize of $2,000 for outstanding work in each of the competition’s three categories: Best Fiction, Best Documentary, and Best Animation. To be eligible, they must be Africans living on the continent, in the diaspora or the Caribbean. Each filmmaker can only enter one film for which they must hold all rights. The entered films should have been produced in 2023 or after and can be in any language.
Besides the cash prize, CANEX Shorts winners will also get an opportunity to participate and have their films screened at CANEX at IATF2025, which will take place in Algiers, Algeria, from 4 – 10 September 2025. This will also provide them with a chance to connect with potential investors and partners in what has become the largest gathering of creatives on the continent.
To enter the competition, filmmakers are required to submit their films, not more than five minutes long, via the Film Freeway digital platform (https://filmfreeway.com/CANEXShorts). From all entries, the selection committee will curate a shortlist of 30 films – 10 films per category for submission to the jury that comprises, well-respected film experts from across the continent. The jury will then select a winning film in each of the categories during CANEX at IATF2025.
The 2024 CANEX shorts winners were unveiled at CANEX WKND 2024. The winning films were: Silent Screams by Esenaga Mbwe (Botswana) in the CANEX Shorts Best Fiction category; We Shall Not Forget by Brian Obra (Kenya) in the CANEX Shorts Best Documentary category; and Room-5 by Francis Y. Brown (Ghana) in the CANEX Shorts Best Animation category. According to the jury, the quality of films submitted during CANEX WKND 2024 was exceptionally high, necessitating award of two Special Mentions: Vodoun Nouminssin and Rain Is Not the Cloud’s Last Parade.
CANEX at IATF2025, where the winners will be unveiled, will provide a unique platform for nurturing business, investment opportunities, collaboration, partnerships and inspiration amongst the creatives fraternity across value chains of diverse creative and cultural industries from film, music, and fashion to culinary arts, sports, and visual arts amongst others. The event participants will include creatives, policymakers, financial institutions, business and political leaders, development partners, thought leaders as well as some of the most respected names in the Creative and Cultural Industries from across the continent and the diaspora.
Highlighting the importance of the competition, Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development at Afreximbank said: “Africa’s film industry, estimated at over $5 billion is thriving and brimming with untapped potential,” adding, “At Afreximbank, we are committed to unlocking this immense value by supporting platforms like CANEX Shorts that aim to propel African storytelling to the global stage. By investing in our creatives, we are not only creating jobs and economic opportunities; we’re actively ensuring Africa’s vibrant culture and talents gain global recognition.”
Given the relevance and opportunities provided by the creative economy as a key driver for development and job creation, Afreximbank has developed the Creative Africa Nexus programme to facilitate the development and growth of the creative and cultural industries in Africa and the diaspora. The initiative provides a range of financing and non-financing instruments /interventions aimed at supporting and developing Africa’s production, trade, and investment in the creative sector. The key strategic objectives under the CANEX Programme include increasing Africa’s share of global cultural trade flows through trade and investment promotion activities, deploying specialized financial products to support the CCI ecosystem, facilitating technical capacity programs that enable export-grade production, facilitating market access to high-value demand hubs (through partnerships) and advocating for harmonized regulatory reform, especially concerning IP rights and incentives
About Afreximbank
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade. For over 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialisation and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank has set up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2024, Afreximbank’s total assets and contingencies stood at over US$40.1 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$7.2 billion. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), China Chengxin International Credit Rating Co., Ltd (CCXI) (AAA), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its equity impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure (together, “the Group”). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
About the Intra-African Trade Fair
Organised by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) is intended to provide a unique platform for facilitating trade and investment information exchange in support of increased intra-African trade and investment, especially in the context of implementing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). IATF brings together continental and global players to showcase and exhibit their goods and services and to explore business and investment opportunities in the continent. It also provides a platform to share trade, investment and market information with stakeholders and allows participants to discuss and identify solutions to the challenges confronting intra-African trade and investment. In addition to African participants, the Trade Fair is also open to businesses and investors from non-African countries interested in doing business in Africa and in supporting the continent’s transformation through industrialisation and export development.
