Afreximbank, CNNIC partner to showcase African scale-up companies

CNN International Commercial (CNNIC), the outfit responsible for the business operations of CNN’s properties outside USA,  and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) are collaborating on a new long-term initiative to showcase, empower and tell the stories of emerging and expanding businesses – known as scale-up companies – across Africa.

In the first partnership of its kind, CNNIC has combined a rich suite of branded content and sponsorship solutions across multiple platforms with Evolve, a brand-new commercial offering to engage CNN’s audiences around the world in a new way about African business and innovation.

In this inaugural Evolve initiative, CNNIC will work together with experts in finance, innovation and investment from Afreximbank, the pan-African multilateral export-import bank, to offer an industry-first scheme that connects Africa’s best scale-ups with investors and customers as well as encouraging intra-African trade.

Starting with a shortlist of 100 high-growth African scale-ups, a final 10 will be selected to take part in the Evolve scheme, with Afreximbank advising and supporting the finalists by offering its expertise across a range of sectors including FinTech and AgriTech. The 10 successful companies will participate in a project designed to establish impactful partnerships and pilots between the companies and a top-tier corporate and investor network taking place across a series of events and meetings over 12 months.

The stories of these companies will be told by CNNIC’s in-house studio Create, which will produce branded content that captures highlights of the growth programme and illustrates Afreximbank’s history and support of innovation and cross-continent commerce. Through film, native content and pre-roll video across CNN platforms and social media, the initiative will be promoted to a global audience, raising the profile of the companies involved as well as Afreximbank’s role in the initiative.

Additionally, Afreximbank is the exclusive sponsor for a new editorial series on CNN International TV, digital and social. Airing from December 2020, Connecting Africa is a new 30-minute monthly show hosted by Eleni Giokos which profiles the people, projects and companies revolutionizing African business and bringing the continent together by championing trade and expansion, reflecting the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. This is the fifth Africa-focused programme currently running on CNN International and reinforces the network’s commitment to reporting on the continent’s brightest talent, smartest businesses, and vibrant culture.