Nigeria’s iDICE joins CANEX deal room

Nigeria’s iDICE Joins CANEX Deal Room to Connect Creative Businesses With Investors

Getting funding remains one of the biggest challenges facing Nigerian creative businesses, even when they have the talent, products and audiences to grow. A new partnership involving Nigeria’s Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) Programme at Afreximbank’s CANEX WKND 2026 has created another opportunity for these businesses to connect with potential investors.

The programme participated as an official Deal Room partner at the four-day event, which held in Lagos from November 5 to 8. The gathering brought together entrepreneurs, investors, financial institutions and creative industry professionals to explore opportunities for expanding Africa’s creative economy.

What is iDICE and how does it work?

The Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) Programme is a $617 million Federal Government initiative implemented by the Bank of Industry (BOI), alongside development partners including the African Development Bank, Agence Française de Développement and the Islamic Development Bank.

Its purpose is straightforward: help young Nigerians and the businesses they establish in technology and creative industries access the resources needed to grow.

Targeting Nigerians aged 15 to 35 and enterprises in these sectors, the programme supports skills development, business growth, access to finance and infrastructure.

Rather than focusing only on helping people develop ideas, iDICE also aims to support businesses in becoming sustainable enterprises capable of attracting investment and creating employment.

What the CANEX Deal Room means for creative businesses

For many creative entrepreneurs, having a successful product does not automatically mean having the money to expand it.

A music company may have an established audience but lack the capital to improve production and distribution. A film producer may have a promising project but struggle to secure financing. Similarly, a technology startup may have a working product without the resources to reach more customers.

The iDICE Deal Room was designed to address part of this funding challenge.

The initiative targeted between 15 and 20 investment-ready digital and creative enterprises, with plans to facilitate approximately 40 to 50 meetings between businesses and potential financiers.

Participants included fund managers, financial institutions and the BOI-iDICE Debt Fund.

These meetings were intended to generate investment leads and provide businesses with opportunities to explore financing and commercial partnerships. However, participation did not guarantee funding.

For entrepreneurs, the potential value lies in gaining access to financial institutions and investors they might otherwise struggle to reach.

Why Lagos is attracting wider creative investment

The partnership also reflects a broader effort to position Lagos as a destination for African creative businesses, investors and international financial institutions.

During CANEX WKND, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Jumoke Oduwole disclosed that more than $500 million in proposed transactions involving Nigerian creative businesses were under discussion with investors and international buyers.

Separately, financing arrangements totalling $118 million were announced for Nigeria’s creative industry. These included a $75 million facility involving Afreximbank and the Development Bank of Nigeria, a $30 million financing arrangement and a $13 million grant involving NEXIM, SMEDAN and Afreximbank.

These wider financing announcements should not be confused with investments secured through the iDICE Deal Room.

The developments nevertheless highlight the growing attention being directed towards Nigeria’s creative businesses and their commercial potential.

For Lagos, hosting CANEX WKND provided an opportunity to connect local entrepreneurs with international business networks and strengthen the city’s position in Africa’s creative economy.

Whether these opportunities translate into more funding, stronger businesses and sustainable jobs will be an important measure of their long-term impact.

As Nigeria’s creative and technology sectors continue to attract investment attention, the next question is how many emerging businesses will turn these opportunities into sustainable growth.