AFRIMA exhibits at 2014 BFMA

…in talks with AITEC for Africa Music Summit

 L-R: AFRIMA Co-Producer/Country Director Nigeria Kingsley James; AFRIMA
Project Director, Adenrele Niyi and AFRIMA Co-Producer/Regional Director
East Africa, Mike Strano at the Media/Industry Briefing about the All
Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, on Tuesday, May 27, 2014 at Kenyatta
International Conference Centre, Nairobi, Kenya

The All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, an awards project conceptualised to communicate African creativity, lifestyle and heritage from an indigenous perspective, joined other international exhibitors for an impactful showcase at the recently concluded Broadcast, Film and Music Africa Conference, BFMA, held in Nairobi, Kenya.   
Organised by AITEC Africa, the continent’s leading ICT event organiser and professional development and training event manager, the 2014 BFMA took place from May 26 to May 27 at the landmark Kenyatta International Conference Centre under the theme: “Afriwood Rising”. The programme included panel discussions, workshops and media briefings, while more than 50 exhibitors showcased their cutting edge products and services.
Partnering with PHAT! Music & Entertainment Ltd. Kenya, a rapidly growing multi-media, youth-oriented authority on African music and entertainment, AFRIMA’s exhibition booth at the 2014 BFMA received visitors like music artistes, industry professionals, content buyers and others who thronged the booth to learn more about the awards event which is currently receiving entries for the award.
In addition, the AFRIMA delegation to BFMA, consisting of AFRIMA Co-Producer/Regional Director East Africa, Mike Strano; AFRIMA Co-Producer/Country Director Nigeria, Kingsley James and AFRIMA Project Director, Adenrele Niyi, also hosted a media/entertainment industry briefing at the Conference where the awards project was formally unveiled to those in audience. The delegation ran through the 30 award categories, call for entries for the 2014 edition that opened on May 15, 2014, as well as breakdown of the voting pattern and the AFRIMA Academy of Voters made up of 527 members across Africa and the Diaspora.
Some of those in attendance at the stakeholders/media briefing included: Chief Executive Officer, Mdundo, Martin Nielsen; Artist Relations Manager, Mdundo, Shyqo Koinange; Evelyn Kibe of Business Mind Kenya; Mildred Achich of Rock ‘n’ Roll Film Festival Kenya and Daniel Ontango of Afrika Jambo Beats, among others.
Meanwhile, All Africa Music Awards and AITEC Africa have entered into partnership and production discussions ahead of the Africa Music Summit, one of the strategic programmes on the AFRIMA 2014 pre-award event calendar. The two-day summit is scheduled to hold in Lagos, Nigeria from October 23 to October 24 under the theme: “Reviving the Business of Music in Africa”. The Summit is a platform for the music industry in Africa to deliberate on how the industry can be nurtured and packaged in a way that adds to the GDP of the continent.
Explaining further, Mike Strano said; “The Africa Music Summit will also examine opportunities for job creation in the vibrant music industry as tool for reducing poverty and insecurity in Africa”. While expressing enthusiasm about the impending partnership between AITEC and AFRIMA ahead of the African Music Summit, Chairman AITEC Africa, Sean Moroney said: “AITEC is excited to have met with AFRIMA to discuss the AFRIMA Summit.  We are very interested in working with AFRIMA to bring this exciting project to fruition and look forward to further interactions to this effect”.
In partnership with the African Union Commission, AFRIMA is a combined effort to recognise and award, promote and preserve Africa’s rich music culture. The award is open to Music professionals of African origin living either on the continent or abroad and recognises Artists, Songwriters, Video Directors, Music Producers and Music Journalists, as well as unrecorded artists. Submission of entries for the 2014 edition opened on May 15 and closes on July 5.
To be preceded by the AFRIMA Village, a four-day open festival style concert (October 21-24), the main awards ceremony will take place in Lagos, Nigeria on October 25, 2014 to be broadcast live on 84 television stations in 109 countries.