NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 23 — Africa’s music industry will come under renewed pressure to convert its growing global visibility into jobs, investment and export earnings when the Francophone African Music Industries Fair (SIMA) returns to Cotonou in November.

📻 Breaking It Down

The third edition of SIMA, scheduled for November 12–13, will bring together artists, producers, investors, policymakers and international industry players around the theme “African Music: From the Stage to Global Influence.”

Organisers say the focus will go beyond celebrating the continent’s musical success to examining how African creators and businesses can capture more of the economic value generated by the growing international demand for African music.

“African music is no longer simply a cultural phenomenon: it has become a force of influence. Our challenge now is to transform this influence into sustainable economic power,” SIMA co-founder Mamby Diomandé said.

📌 What You Need to Know

“SIMA aims to build connections between creators, investors, institutions and markets so that the international visibility of our talents translates into measurable data, content monetization, economic opportunities, jobs and value creation for the continent.”

The fair comes as Africa’s creative economy is projected by SIMA organisers to have the potential to generate up to 20 million jobs by 2030, increasing pressure on governments and industry players to build stronger systems for financing, intellectual property protection, distribution and international market access.

SIMA 2026 will therefore centre its programme on three priorities: improving the competitiveness and internationalisation of African creative businesses; linking music with sectors such as fashion, film, tourism and sport; and strengthening public policy, intellectual property and regulatory frameworks.

The organisers say the cross-sector approach is intended to open additional revenue streams for artists and businesses while positioning music as part of a wider creative economy.

The programme will also examine the technological changes reshaping the industry, including artificial intelligence and new models for creating, distributing and consuming content.

The event follows the previous edition, which attracted more than 6,700 participants and over 3,000 industry professionals, according to organisers.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya