Yes, you can use the NetworkManager D-Bus API to create an access point. This is how our WiFi Connect project creates its captive portal access point: https://github.com/resin-io-modules/network-manager/blob/e8457f4d82334d3ade271995a6df725ada746b8e/src/dbus_nm.rs#L274
Additionally you will probably need to run application like dnsmasq for the DHCP and DNS server part you need.
You may also use hostapd for creating an access point from inside of your container. Here is an example for this: https://github.com/resin-io-playground/hostapd-minimal
We are currently working on improving on this in our OS - we will have a separate service with nice API for doing this type of networking configuration, but we are still in an initial implementation phase.
It really all depends on the of purpose your access point. If you provide a bit more information on this I can provide you with more specific recommendations.