Voting opens for Digital Lab Africa 2019

DLA has listed 30 finalists from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Senegal and Gabon. Ten creatives will emerge as winners after the votes have been cast.

The digital music category features six projects designed for use on web platforms or mobile applications. If well developed, these projects will offer online music users various experiences including services, solutions and multimedia content.

"We would like to thank all the candidates who applied for the DLA call for projects,” DLA director Lesley Williams said. “We recognise the importance of taking ownership of the narrative in our own stories and these candidates have all stepped up to the plate.”

The participants in the digital music category include:

• Tabitha Karaba (Kenya) – She has developed the Akulele app that specialises in generating music from African instruments.
• Norton Nyandeni (South Africa) – He is a host of the Frontline Session, a Facebook-based live streaming platform and podcast that shines a light on street culture appreciation.
• Mamadou Dione (Senegal) – He has developed a music service called JokkoText, which allows users to earn money by promoting artists’ music. It allows artists to register, add their music online and sell it via airtime, mobile money, download codes or credit cards.
• Cédrick Mezui Beckdan (Gabon) – He has developed Streambeats Live, a web and mobile platform that allows users to stream instrumentals and buy them from the beatmaker or instrumentalist.
• Shaka Ramulifho (South Africa) – He has developed Sunkambe, a platform for the music industry that raises finance by trading on future potential revenue for 18 months.
• Marvin Madyara (Zimbabwe) – He has developed SwaggifyTM, a platform that allows fashion brands and designers to sell and market their clothing lines worn in music videos by artists and celebrities to millions of TV and online music video viewers.

Voting will officially close on 28 April. The winners will be announced on 30 April.

The project's incubation phase is between June and December 2019.

Prizes

The project that gathers the most votes will be awarded a DLA Audience Award.

The winning 10 creatives will be awarded:

• A cash prize of $3 000.
• A tailor-made incubation programme to accelerate their project development with mentors from French and sub-Saharan creative industries.
• A residency period within a digital cluster or hub in France.
• An opportunity to participate in industry events in France and the sub-Saharan African region.

For international travels, the DLA will cover flights, accommodation and accreditation.

The full list of contestants can be accessed here and voting done here.

For more information about this competition, visit the DLA official website.