Cotonou, September 4, 2026 – The Francophone African Music Industries Fair (SIMA) announces the holding of its third edition, from November 12 to 13, 2026 in Cotonou, Republic of Benin. After a previous edition that brought together more than 6,700 participants and more than 3,000 professionals, this pan-African meeting of cultural and creative industries returns with a strong ambition: “African music: from the stage to the power of influence ”.
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The SIMA 2026 benefits from the support of major institutional and private partners, including the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage of Benin, the Ministry of Tourism and Foreign Trade of Benin, the French Embassy in Ivory Coast, the BOAD foundation as well as SACEM, Sony Music and Warner Music Africa. These supports testify to the growing interest in the development and structuring of African cultural and creative industries.
The choice of Benin to host SIMA, for the second consecutive time, is part of the dynamic driven by the country aimed at enhancing the role of cultural and creative industries in the structural transformation processes of economies and the cultural influence of the country at regional and international levels.
Co-founded in 2022 by cultural entrepreneur Mamby Diomandé and artist-producer Pit Baccardi, SIMA establishes itself as a reference platform to structure, connect and develop African creative ecosystems. By placing music at the heart of a broader reflection on the transformations of culture and creative industries, SIMA also intends to take into account technological changes reshaping the sector, from artificial intelligence to new modes of creation, distribution, and consumption of content.
In a context where the African creative economy could generate up to 20 million jobs by 2030, the 2026 edition aims to take a new step: contributing to positioning African creativity as a true lever of soft power, value creation, and international influence.
“African music is no longer just a cultural phenomenon: it has become a force of influence. Our challenge now is to transform this influence into sustainable economic power. SIMA wants to create connections between creators, investors, institutions, and markets so that the international visibility of our talents translates into measurable data, monetization of content, economic opportunities, jobs, and value creation for the continent.”,
Mamby Diomandé, co-founder of SIMA
Three axes to make creativity an economic power
To meet the challenges of a global market in full transformation, SIMA 2026 will structure its program around three priorities.
The first axis focuses on competitiveness and internationalization, with the goal of strengthening the economic performance of actors and promoting the export of African talents.
The second axis bets on intersectoral synergy, by bringing music closer to fashion, cinema, tourism, sports, and other creative industries to develop more revenue.
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Finally, the third axis concerns public policies on intellectual property and regulatory mechanisms, with the ambition to produce concrete recommendations and strengthen frameworks allowing the sector to better capture the value it generates.
Beyond debates and professional exchanges, SIMA intends to make creation a true engine of connection between ecosystem actors. Through its artistic residency, live sessions, and immersive formats, the fair promotes collaborations between artists, producers, professionals, and international actors, while creating bridges between different African and international markets.
A week between creation, business, and influence
From November 7 to 11, 2026, SIMA Lab. Music will bring together artists and beatmakers from the continent around an artistic residency aimed at producing a collaborative EP, with distribution planned by an international major label.
On November 12 and 13, 2026, the professional days and panels will gather the main actors of the music ecosystem around major issues shaping the industry’s future, including artificial intelligence, copyright, mobility, financing, and new market opportunities.
At the crossroads of cultural and sports industries, a highlight will also be dedicated to the convergence between football and music, two powerful vectors of influence on the continent, with the participation of sports leaders and opinion leaders.
In this dynamic, the Makaya, a stage dedicated to discovery, will showcase emerging talents from Togo, Kenya, Madagascar, and other countries on the continent, offering a new showcase for up-and-coming artists. The program will also feature the awarding of the Hamed Bakayoko Prize, an honorary distinction recognizing the commitment of a patron to the development of cultural and creative industries in Africa.
On November 14, 2026, SIMA will extend the experience with a tourist circuit organized in collaboration with Benin Tourism, inviting artists, professionals, and international guests to discover the heritage and emblematic sites of Benin. This immersion will offer participants the opportunity to better understand the cultural, historical, and touristic richness of the host country, while extending meetings and exchanges beyond the professional framework of the fair.
About SIMA
Created and initiated by music industry experts, the Francophone African Music Industries Fair (SIMA) promotes the African music industry, trains actors in its ecosystem, and fosters business meetings between African and international actors. A true interconnection platform for cultural and creative industries, SIMA offers ecosystem actors a space to create, learn, share, meet, and foster new collaborations, while contributing to reflection on cultural, economic, and technological issues shaping African creative industries and their international influence.
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For more information: Official SIMA website https://www.simaonline.net
Press contacts:
Charles Assagba: +225 07 08 45 50 20 / ca@concerto-pr.com
Emmanuel Emian: +225 01 42 38 50 41; +225 01 41 17 12 30/ ee@concerto-pr.com
Olga Akin-Dina: +229 97 97 12 27; +225 05 95 69 24 75 / oa@concerto-pr.com