In picture : Winners of the CANEX Junior Chef Competition display their prizes during IATF2025 in Algeria.
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is urging Nigeria’s most promising junior culinary talents, aged 16 to 21, to showcase their creativity, technical skills, and cultural storytelling at its Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programmet, set to hold from 5 to 8, November 2026, in Lagos, Nigeria.
Afreximbank’s Director of Intra-African Trade and Export Development (Creatives and Diaspora), Temwa Gondwe, noted that now in its second edition, the competition builds on the landmark debut in Algiers, Algeria, during IATF2025, with Fatma Zohra Bendjelida crowned the inaugural winner.
According to her, this year, the spotlight turns to Nigeria’s next generation of culinary talents.
” Eight aspiring young chefs will earn their place on the live stage at CANEX WKND in Lagos, where they will transform African culinary heritage into bold, signature creations; making dishes that honour the flavours, traditions, and stories of the continent while presenting a fresh, fearless voice in African gastronomy.
“The CANEX Junior Chef Competition reflects Afreximbank’s commitment to Africa’s creative economy, by investing in the talent and enterprises that will define its future. Africa’s gastronomy is among the world’s richest, yet most underexplored assets.
“It is a living expression of our heritage, ingredients and stories, and a commercial sector with the power to drive tourism, create jobs, strengthen local food supply chains and open new markets for African cuisine. Through CANEX, we are turning culinary creativity into enterprise,” she said.
