I am pleased to submit my last report as chairperson of the MIAF. I feel privileged to have been part of the Music In Africa initiative since its inception. And I am particularly grateful to have had the opportunity to serve on the Board since 2013, leading to my appointment as chairperson in 2016.

The MIAF’s growing presence and influence across Africa is truly irrefutable and extremely exciting. I strongly believe in our work and I am proud to see our Foundation as a pillar of growth, exchange and development in the African music sector.

The year under review has been a strong one once again. We have diligently pursued our objectives in an ambitious yet measured manner, advancing our offline projects considerably while maintaining our focus on growing the Music In Africa portal. Continued growth on the portal is not only seen in the exponential reach and increase in our published content but also in the number of documented music professionals on the portal. An important development is that we have now extended our research and coverage to 38 African countries with more than 600 key research commissions completed over the past five years alone. This is important and will serve as confirmation that our envisaged target to cover all 54 African countries by 2022 is well on track.

Over the last few years, our strategy to develop our work beyond the online portal has taken significant steps. In the year under review, we successfully launched the ACCES music conference – a great platform that will go a long way in facilitating exchange and growth in the African music sector. Having had ACCES launched in my home town Dakar last year, I fully appreciate its power as an elaborate platform for musicians, professionals, service providers and the sector as a whole to engage and shape strategies for the future.

The Music In Africa Connects project, which we introduced in 2017, had its peak phase in the year under review, supporting some 80 bands and 11 festivals with funds and administrative support to organise local and regional tours in over 10 countries. In addition to this we were able to introduce a range of training initiatives in countries such as Somalia, Chad, Mali, Sudan and Nigeria.

The increasing economic challenges across the globe will continue to put pressure on organisations such as ours. I remain confident in the MIAF’s commitment and ability to address these issues going forward. This year, the MIAF will welcome a new board at its 6th AGM in Nairobi, Kenya. I am pleased to say that we have received very strong candidates with the right functional skills required to further the Foundation’s agenda going forward.

Appreciation

It is with a great sense of appreciation that I acknowledge and thank my colleagues on the Board and advisory committees for their wise counsel.  On behalf of my colleagues on the Board, I would like to thank our director Mr. Edington Hatitye for his strategic leadership and our staff for their outstanding care and hard work. I want to acknowledge our founding partners Siemens Stiftung and Goethe-Institut, whose continued support has taken us this far.

Once again, I am honoured to have been entrusted with the duties and responsibilities of being the chairperson of the MIAF for the past two years. I thank you all for being part of this journey, and I remain confident that the MIAF will continue to grow by leaps and bounds, and with the interests of its members at heart.

Miss Aisha Dème – Chairperson