Afreximbank Opens Second Edition of Junior Chef Competition

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has launched applications for the 2026 CANEX WKND Junior Chef Competition, inviting Nigeria's culinary talents aged 16 to 21 to showcase their skills at a live competition in Lagos this November.

Applications remain open until 26 June 2026 via the CANEX platform. Eight finalists will compete at CANEX WKND 2026, scheduled for 5-8 November in Lagos.

Competition Focus

The competition emphasizes African culinary heritage and contemporary innovation. Participants will be judged on creativity and innovation, technical skill, plating and presentation, use of local ingredients, and ability to tell cultural stories through food.

The competition builds on its inaugural 2025 edition in Algiers, Algeria, where Fatma Zohra Bendjelida won the title. This year's eight finalists will advance through semi-final rounds of live cooking sessions before an independent jury of culinary leaders from Africa and the Caribbean.

Eligibility and Prizes

The competition is open to aspiring chefs, culinary students, and self-taught food creatives from Nigeria aged 16-21 who are willing to travel to Lagos for the event.

Top three winners will receive cash prizes, certificates, and trophies. Selected participants also gain visibility, mentorship, and connections with leading chefs and sector stakeholders.

Strategic Context

Temwa Gondwe, Afreximbank's Director of Intra-African Trade and Export Development (Creatives and Diaspora), said: "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."

The competition sits within CANEX's broader mission to establish gastronomy as a pillar of Africa's creative economy and position food as an engine of cultural expression and commercial opportunity.

Why It Matters

For operators and industry stakeholders, this initiative signals growing institutional backing for Africa's culinary sector. As development banks invest in food-focused talent pipelines and enterprise creation, the competitive landscape for African cuisine at the continental level intensifies. The emphasis on supply chain development and tourism potential suggests a shift toward professionalizing and scaling African gastronomy as a commercial sector, not merely a cultural asset.

---

For more insights and trends in the food and beverage sector, check out more articles in The Food & Beverage Magazine family of publications.

Written by FBM Publications Editors