AFRIMA’s 10th edition brings Africa’s music industry home to Lagos — with a global ambition

AFRIMA’s 10th edition brings Africa’s music industry home to Lagos — with a global ambition

Exclusive to Ekocity | Entertainment Desk

LAGOS — African music is no longer waiting for the world to discover it. It is increasingly travelling with its own audience, building its own markets and creating a cultural economy that stretches from Lagos to Los Angeles.

Now, the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) is preparing to mark that transformation with its 10th edition, scheduled to take place in Lagos from May 18 to 23, 2027, culminating in the grand awards ceremony on May 23.

The calendar was unveiled in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, during a creative-industry roundtable organised by AFRIMA in partnership with the African Union. The choice of Los Angeles was significant: one of the world’s entertainment capitals became the setting for an African institution announcing its return to one of Africa’s most influential music cities. But this is not simply an anniversary celebration.

AFRIMA President and Executive Producer Mike Dada has framed the 10th edition around a bigger economic question: how can Africa transform the extraordinary global popularity of its music into investment, jobs, businesses and lasting creative infrastructure? That question increasingly matters.

Afrobeats, Amapiano and other African sounds have moved from regional playlists to international festivals, arenas and streaming platforms. Yet the economic value generated by that cultural influence does not always remain within Africa.

AFRIMA is positioning its next edition as part of an attempt to change that equation. The build-up will include the #Road2AFRIMA10Xperience, taking the conversation through cities including London, Windhoek, Cotonou, Nairobi, Accra, Paris, Warri and Port Harcourt. Lagos will host conferences, media engagements, concerts and industry activities before the main awards week.

Entries open October 11, 2026, and close January 10, 2027. Nominees are scheduled to be announced January 29, with public voting running from February 21 to May 21. For Lagos, the return is more than entertainment.

It is a statement about the city’s place in Africa’s creative economy. And for AFRIMA, its 10th edition offers an opportunity to demonstrate that African music can be more than a global cultural export. It can be an economic asset — owned, financed and built on African soil.

Fawumi Kayode Abiodun
Political Analyst | CEO, Ekocity Media | Publisher, Ekocity Magazine and The Capitol Post