eSwatini: MTN Bushfire partners with Africa Rising Music Conference

The Arts Round Table is part of the MTN Bushfire Festival that will be held in eSwatini from 27 to 29 May. The series includes conversations and workshops that connect aspiring multi-disciplined artists with seasoned festival performers. Through these thematic conversations, individuals and organisations can achieve success as professionals in the entertainment industry.

The three-year partnership will be supported by First National Bank, with ARMC playing a vital role in this year’s Arts Round Table. It will feature speakers from Southern Africa, The Netherlands, Germany, Rwanda and Americas, all with expertise across various pillars of the music business ecosystem.

“By connecting the African and European music markets at multiple touchpoints, there will be a range of new opportunities specifically for the local eSwatini creative industries as well as more broadly for the region,” MTN Bushfire said.

Some of the topics on the menu include Women's Voices: amplifying them in the music business; Building Bridges: exchange between Africa and the world; and Independent Africa: developing, understanding, and creating new opportunities.

“This partnership between ARMC and MTN’s Bushfire Festival will create a synergy that aims to lay the foundation for an annual opportunity to meet, engage, showcase and activate a dynamic range of topics and outputs.”

Meanwhile, ARMC, in partnership with Dutch Music Export, will be held at Hallmark Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 24 to 25 May. The conference is a female-led initiative that will focus on building bridges between African music and the global market. It will offer insights and innovative solutions through an exchange between African and international participants, which will prioritise independence and creativity to help in the development of the African music industry globally.