Call for applications: Music Business Academy for Africa 2023

The initiative, which commences on 8 July, forms part of a vision to build an informed and empowered workforce for the African music and creative industries by providing students with the opportunity to learn from experienced professionals in both the African and global entertainment industries.

MBA for Africa was conceived in 2020 by iManage Africa founder Godwin Tom and is developed in partnership with Music Ally, YouTube Music and Dr Carlos Chirinos of New York University.

The project, now in its third year, has seen significant success, with 294 students from 31 cities worldwide participating last year, through weekly live sessions featuring more than 40 industry experts and the release of an album and video featuring eight artists shot by filmmaker Adasa Cookey.

“We did our best to give the best education possible, and the students repaid us with the work ethics of champions,” Tom said. “We built a community of competent hands who will lead this industry to greatness with compassion, foresight and integrity. What started as an idea is now morphing into a platform with the biggest African music industry network from Nigeria to Kenya to Malawi to SA to Ghana.”

Over the past week, the top 10 MBA for Africa students from last year’s cohort visited leading businesses such as Google Africa/YouTube Music and Trace Naija in Lagos, with the objective of gaining a better understanding of the extent of work being done and to gain valuable insights into their role in shaping the African and global music industry.

For this year’s edition, the programme has struck strategic partnerships in Senegal, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania, and classes will be conducted in English, French and Swahili.

Interested individuals can apply here.

The application deadline is 23 April.