Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX), an intervention by African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to promote Africa’s creative and cultural industries, has announced a partnership with Tranoï, organisers of international fashion events, to showcase Spring/Summer collections by 35 African fashion designers at the Paris and Japan fashion weeks.
Under the partnership, 15 African designers will get an opportunity to present their creations at Tranoï Tokyo during the Japan Fashion Week that will be held at Yoyogi National Stadium on September 3 and 4, 2025.
An additional 20 African designers will be exhibiting in the next edition of Tranoï Paris from October 2 to 5, 2025 at the Palais Brongniart, during the Paris Fashion Week. Out of the 20 designers participating in Tranoï Paris, three will be selected by a jury of industry experts to take part in an exclusive fashion show at the Palais Brongniart, on Friday October 3, 2025.
This opportunity is open to designers or fashion brands of African origin from Africa or based in the diaspora, who will need to present a ready-to-wear collection with a strong creative signature. They will also need to have an ethical and/or innovative approach to the design process; as well as at least two collections to their credit and a commercial presence (website, points of sale or e-commerce).
Participation in Tranoï Paris or Tranoï Tokyo is a unique opportunity for African designers to boost their profile globally. The selected designers will benefit from exclusive support, including a dedicated sales team and exclusive contact with buyers, media and fashion industry professionals in the CANEX pavilions at the Paris and Tokyo editions. Interested designers are required to submit their applications here before May 15, 2025.
Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra African Trade and Export Development, Afreximbank, said, “We are excited to join hands with Tranoï to create new opportunities for African fashion design talent to access the global fashion markets and unlock new international markets. Through this initiative, we are bringing to life our ambitions aimed at tapping into the opportunities presented by the creative economy in Africa as a driver of development.
CANEX is designed to address challenges faced by Africa’s creative economy by providing access to international markets, financing, training and mentorship opportunities. It aims to integrate Africa’s creative economy into the global value chain.
One of its signature initiatives is CANEX at IATF 2025 that promises to be a significant gathering of creatives from Global Africa and will be held during the fourth edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF), Africa’s premier trade and investment event, taking place in Algiers, Algeria from 4 – 10 September 2025. More than 2,000 exhibitors, including businesses from the African continent and globally, will be showcasing their goods and services to the visitors and buyers attending IATF while exploring opportunities and exchanging information.
This is projected to translate into over US$44 billion in trade and investment deals. The CANEX programme will be hosting a dedicated exhibition and summit covering fashion, music, film, arts and craft, sports, literature, gastronomy and culinary arts.
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, (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.
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 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.
About Tranoï
Founded in 1991, Tranoï organises international BtoB events bringing together a community of emerging designers and established brands to put them in touch with the fashion ecosystem, including buyers, media and distributors from all over the world. Tranoï Paris presents women’s collections during Paris Fashion Week at the Palais Brongniart, while Tranoï Tokyo showcases men’s and women’s collections during Japanese Fashion Week. Tranoï Showcase is a new format that presents the designers of a city or country through fashion shows or presentations during Paris Fashion Week. Tranoï is part of the Creative Pole.
About The Creative Pole fashion division of GL events
With 18 shows and events every year on three continents, The Creative Pole brings together the Première Vision, Tranoï and Fashion Source brands, and federates a community of over 400,000 creators, designers and professionals around the essence of creation. With eight offices worldwide, it is developing a unique range of events and services to meet the new challenges of the fashion market in France and abroad.
The Creative Pole pursues a simple ambition: to be a global player capable of supporting the entire creative industry in its current and future challenges, from upstream to downstream, from local to international.
BellaNaija is a media partner for Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX)
