The 9th All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA), held from January 7-11, 2026 in Lagos, Nigeria, with the theme “Unstoppable Africa”, was more than a glamorous awards ceremony. It was a cultural statement, a turning point for Africa’s Music and Entertainment Industry and an economic signal. It was evidence that Africa’s music and entertainment industries are no longer peripheral players but central actors in global creative economies.
For decades, African music travelled globally through fragments: sampled beats, diaspora remixes, or niche “world music” labels. Today, it moves whole as commercially viable, culturally confident, and increasingly self-defined. AFRIMA 2026 captured this shift with clarity: Africa is not waiting to be discovered; it is asserting ownership of its sound, its platforms, and its future.
Beyond the awards night itself, AFRIMA 2026 unfolded as a moving cultural circuit across Lagos, deliberately traversing the city’s many creative and social spaces. From high-level industry conversations at the Africa Music Business Summit to vibrant live performances at the Music Village, nominees’ gatherings, and stakeholder receptions hosted across multiple venues, the week transformed Lagos into a living showcase of Africa’s creative economy.
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The Diplomatic community was not left out as the British High Commission in Nigeria co-hosted the 9th AFRIMA Welcome Soirée. The inclusion of an official reception hosted by the High Commission underscored the growing recognition of African music as a serious instrument of cultural diplomacy, signalling how global partners increasingly engage with Africa’s creative sector not as novelty, but as influence and economic power.
This decentralised approach mattered. It mirrored the energy of the city itself — restless, diverse, and layered — while allowing different communities, audiences, and industry players to engage with the festival. In doing so, AFRIMA reinforced Lagos’ place not just as Nigeria’s cultural capital, but as one of Africa’s most important creative cities, capable of hosting events that blend spectacle with substance, and celebration with strategy.
AFRIMA: From Vision to Continental Institution
AFRIMA was established in 2014 with a clear ambition: to create a pan-African platform that celebrates musical excellence while unifying Africa’s diverse sounds under a shared continental identity. Unlike awards rooted in single markets, AFRIMA was conceived as a bridge connecting regions, languages, genres, and cultures across Africa and its diaspora.
Over the past decade, AFRIMA has evolved from an awards night into a cultural institution, formally endorsed by the African Union and aligned with Agenda 2063. Its structure, combining awards, music business summits, training programmes, and policy conversations, reflects a deliberate attempt to move Africa’s creative sector from celebration to strategy. AFRIMA’s growth mirrors Africa’s own creative awakening: ambitious, imperfect, but increasingly influential.
Beyond One Sound: AFRIMA’s Pan-African Tapestry
The headline moment of the awards was Rema’s historic sweep as Artiste of the Year, Best Male Artiste in Western Africa, and Best African Artiste in R&B & Soul. His success represents more than personal achievement. It reflects a generation of African artists who understand both creativity and global systems, streaming, branding, touring, and digital reach.
Burna Boy’s Album of the Year win for No Sign of Weakness further reinforced Africa’s musical maturity. His work continues to bridge traditional African rhythms with global sonic language, proving that cultural authenticity and international appeal are not mutually exclusive.
Equally telling was the rise of artists like Shallipopi, whose viral hit “Laho” won Song of the Year and Best African Collaboration. His trajectory underscores how digital culture, youth creativity, and grassroots popularity are reshaping how African music breaks through faster, bolder, and less dependent on traditional gatekeepers.
Nigeria’s dominance was unmistakable, but it also raised an important point: this success is the product of ecosystems in the form of studios, producers, digital platforms, and promoters, not just talent. Even the fashion industry found its place, curating top brands for the awardees and performers. It is a reminder that creative excellence flourishes where infrastructure exists.
AFRIMA’s true strength lies in its continental breadth. The awards resisted the temptation to frame African music as a single genre or geography.
From Tanzania’s Juma Jux, crowned Best Male Artist in Eastern Africa, to Cindy Le Coeur of the DRC in Central Africa, and winners from Southern Africa, the ceremony showcased Africa’s diverse musical languages. Particularly significant was Element Eleéeeh, who became the first Rwandan to win Best Producer of the Year, highlighting the growing importance of behind-the-scenes African excellence.
These wins matter because they challenge a long-standing flattening of African creativity into a few dominant markets. AFRIMA’s regional categorisation is not symbolic; it is strategic. It asserts that Africa’s creative economy is multi-centred, interconnected, and rich in local innovation.
In doing so, AFRIMA positions itself not merely as an awards platform, but as a curator of Africa’s cultural map, one that validates diversity while fostering continental coherence.
From Celebration to Strategy: The Economics Behind the Music
The conversations around AFRIMA increasingly extend beyond music into economic policy and development, and rightly so.
Nigeria’s media and entertainment industry is estimated to contribute nearly ₦2 trillion to GDP, with music and Nollywood as key drivers. Nigeria’s digital music market alone generated over $120 million in recent years, while streaming platforms report rising royalty payouts to African artists. Across the continent, UNESCO estimates that Africa’s creative industries could generate up to $20 billion annually if fully harnessed.
Yet these figures tell only part of the story. Revenue remains highly concentrated. Many African creators still earn little from streaming, face weak intellectual property protection, limited access to finance, and inadequate infrastructure. The risk is clear: Africa supplies the culture, but others capture disproportionate value.
It was therefore significant that Rema used his acceptance speech to urge African artists to support African-owned platforms. His message echoed a growing industry concern: global visibility without local ownership is not empowerment.
This is where AFRIMA’s expanded programming, including the Africa Music Business Summit, training initiatives, and talent development platforms becomes critical. The awards are evolving into an ecosystem builder, connecting creativity with policy, finance, and skills. AFRIMA 2026 underscored a central truth: Africa’s creative ascent is no longer a talent question; it is a policy question.
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For Nigeria, priorities are clear. Stronger intellectual property enforcement, accessible financing for creative enterprises, investment in production and performance infrastructure, reliable industry data, and integration of creative exports into trade policy, particularly under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), are no longer optional. They are necessary.
At the continental level, the African Union’s partnership with AFRIMA, aligned with Agenda 2063, signals growing recognition of culture as economic infrastructure. But more is needed: a coordinated creative-industry strategy, cross-border IP frameworks, skills development pipelines, and collective engagement with global streaming platforms on fair revenue terms.
Without these steps, Africa risks repeating an old pattern of exporting value while importing profits. The 9th AFRIMA Awards did more than celebrate winners. It offered a blueprint for Africa’s creative future, one where culture is not just expressive, but productive; not just visible, but valuable.
Africa’s artists are already shaping global soundscapes. The question now is whether African institutions and governments will match that success with vision and investment. If they do, AFRIMA may one day be remembered not only as an awards ceremony, but as a turning point when Africa’s creativity became a cornerstone of its economic transformation.
Africa’s music is rising. The task ahead is to ensure that Africa rises with it.
