A pan-African bank and a tech-talent platform are betting that Africa’s creators lack tools, not talent. The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), through its Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme, and the technology company Gebeya have launched the CANEX Create-thon, a US$50,000 competition for creators working in music, video and gaming.
The format is deliberately not a pitch contest. Over an intensive four-day sprint from 20 to 24 August 2026, participants must build and submit working prototypes or completed projects, using Gebeya’s Dala Studio platform, computing resources and hands-on technical support rather than slide decks.
Tools in the hands of creators
The competition is open to amateur, emerging and established creators across Africa, individuals or teams, with no requirement for a production company, a conventional studio or an existing audience. Between 30 and 40 ambassadors from Gebeya’s community will help participants navigate the platform and make use of the computing resources during the sprint.
“Africa’s creators are visible and have the digital talent but have often lacked the financial backing and access to digital tools to grow their trade,” said Temwa Gondwe, director of creatives and diaspora at Afreximbank. Amadou Daffe, chief executive and co-founder of Gebeya, pointed to the commercial case: recorded-music revenues in Sub-Saharan Africa grew by more than 20% in a single year, the gaming market is expanding, and Nigeria’s film industry remains among the world’s largest by production volume, yet many creators still lack the production infrastructure to capitalise on it.
How the money is split
The $50,000 pool is spread across the three categories rather than concentrated in a single grand prize. Each of music, video, and gaming will award $7,000 for first place, $3,500 for second, and $1,500 for third, with additional $500 awards for qualifying finalists. Entries are first screened for eligibility with technology assistance, then opened to a public vote that narrows the field to a top 100, before an expert panel from the creative, technology and business sectors picks the winners.
Why it matters
Africa’s creative industries are routinely described as under-monetised: huge cultural output, thin infrastructure to turn it into durable businesses. Putting a development-bank name and real tooling behind a build-something competition, rather than another awards ceremony, is an attempt to move creators “from inspiration to execution”, as Daffe put it, and to keep more of the value on the continent. The gaming category in particular sits alongside a broader push into African gaming culture, from grassroots creators to the reinvention of long-running events such as rAge into full festivals.
Whether a four-day sprint produces anything commercially durable is the fair question, and the winners’ real test will come after the prize money. But placing tools and funding directly in creators’ hands, on the premise that the talent is already there, is a more useful intervention than most.
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