MIAF joins forces with SAMRO to present Zoë Modiga at ACCES 2025

ACCES, regarded as Africa’s leading music trade event, brings together professionals from across the continent and beyond for showcases, panel discussions and networking. Modiga – born Palesa Nomthandazo Phumelele Modiga – will perform on 1 November at 012 Central in Pretoria’s central business district as part of the partnership between MIAF and SAMRO, which seeks to promote music rights awareness and strengthen support for rights holders across Africa.

This year’s ACCES programme combines a two-day music conference at the Aula Theatre, University of Pretoria, with a multi-artist showcase festival. The event, being hosted in Tshwane for the first time, is expected to attract more than 1 000 delegates from over 45 countries.

Modiga has become one of South Africa’s leading contemporary jazz artists. A graduate of the National School of the Arts and the University of Cape Town’s jazz programme, she gained national recognition after winning the SAMRO Overseas Scholarships Competition for Jazz in 2015 and later appearing as a Top 8 contestant on The Voice South Africa.

Music In Africa Foundation Executive Director Eddie Hatitye said the collaboration with SAMRO underscores the conference’s commitment to strengthening Africa’s music ecosystem.

“Partnering with SAMRO allows us to highlight the importance of protecting music rights while showcasing exceptional African talent such as Zoë Modiga. Her performance at ACCES 2025 will be a fitting celebration of artistry, collaboration and creative excellence,” Hatitye said.

Strengthening collective management in Africa

In collaboration with the Foundation, SAMRO will also use the ACCES platform to host an important forum titled Strengthening Collective Management in Africa on Thursday, 30 October at 3 PM.

This engagement will bring together collective management organisations (CMOs), policymakers, rights holders and other industry stakeholders to explore opportunities, challenges and the future of music rights management, while also providing a platform for networking and potential collaborations.

SAMRO has been participating actively at ACCES since 2022, when the organisation attended the 5th edition of ACCES in Dar es Salaam. Last year, SAMRO CEO Annabell Lebethe delivered a keynote address at ACCES in Kigali, where the organisation shared key insights and data on its work as Africa’s biggest CMO.

“SAMRO is proud to collaborate with the Music In Africa Foundation in continuing to advance a thriving and well-governed creative economy on the continent,” SAMRO General Manager of Marketing, Communications and CSI Kgomotso Mosenogi said. “This partnership reflects our commitment to strengthening music rights literacy, ensuring that African creators are empowered with the knowledge and systems that protect the value of their work. Elevating an artist of Zoë Modiga’s calibre at the ACCES 2025 Showcase illustrates the very best of what happens when rights protection, artistic excellence and pan-African collaboration converge. Her journey, including her early support through the SAMRO Scholarships Programme, represents the type of sustained investment in talent development that transforms careers and enriches the global music landscape.”

Other artists on the ACCES line-up include Thakzin (South Africa), Naledi Aphiwe (South Africa), Frida Amani (Tanzania), Oumy (Senegal), Shandesh (South Africa), Tobi Peter (Nigeria), Charles Gene Suite (South Africa), Claudio Rabe (Réunion Island), Kekelingo (South Africa), Boukuru (Rwanda), Jabulile Majola (South Africa), Mwendamberi (Zimbabwe), Mpho Sebina (Botswana), Bokani Dyer (South Africa), Njoki Karu (Kenya) and FIMFIM (Ghana).