Benin: Cotonou hosts SIMA 2025, financing and promoting music from French-speaking Africa
After a successful first edition in Côte d’Ivoire, the Salon des Industries Musicales d’Afrique Francophone (SIMA) returns with even greater ambition. From November 10 to 15, 2025, Cotonou (Benin) will host this major gathering of African music, under the theme: “From Potential to Proof: Showcasing and Financing Francophone Africa’s Music.”
Organized with the support of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts through the Benin Tourism Agency, the event expects more than 7,000 participants, compared to 5,000 in its first edition. Artists, producers, managers, labels, institutions, funders, and media will come together for six days of networking, discussions, and performances. SIMA is aimed at both professionals and the general public, celebrating music as a living and shared heritage.
The choice of Benin reflects the country’s determination to strengthen its position as a hub for cultural and creative industries (CCI). Since 2016, Benin has relied on tourism and culture as development drivers, also integrating the MICE segment (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions). Hosting SIMA 2025 consolidates this strategy and highlights Benin’s cultural soft power.
The 2025 edition will feature a new format: an immersive artistic residency (November 10–12), a professional trade fair (November 13–14), and a grand closing concert (November 15). Key topics will include financing Africa’s music industry, intellectual property, data, the live music market, and new models of cooperation and export.
For Sindé Chekete, Director General of Benin Tourism, SIMA embodies the country’s vision: “to make tourism and culture strategic levers of economic and social development.”
With music revenues in sub-Saharan Africa surpassing $100 million for the first time in 2025 (a 22.6% growth, according to IFPI), the challenge remains building sustainable financing to support talent. That is precisely SIMA’s ambition: to turn Africa’s musical potential into a true economic engine by connecting artists, entrepreneurs, and international partners.
By combining regional cooperation, professionalization, and international visibility, SIMA 2025 aims to place Francophone Africa at the heart of the global music stage.
