Warner Music, Blavatnik Family Foundation launch social justice fund in Africa

6 Jul 2022 - 16:09

Published under the Creative Commons Licence

The Warner Music Group/Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund (WMG/BFF SJF) has launched the SJF Repertoire Fund to support sub-Saharan African organisations to advance racial equity in the arts, culture, education and criminal justice reform.

Warner Music Africa managing director and senior vice-president of special projects in sub-Saharan Africa Temi Adeniji.

The SJF Repertoire Fund is an eight-year $10m initiative in which the sub-Saharan Africa region has been allocated $1m for grants worth $5 000 to $15 000. The fund forms part of the WMG/BFF SJF, which was established in June 2020 to support causes related to the music industry, social justice and education, along with campaigns designed to fight violence and racism.

On behalf of the WMG/BFF SJF, Warner Music South Africa has announced the first batch of SJF Repertoire Fund grantee partners for sub-Saharan Africa, including organisations in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

“In the inaugural cycle of SJF Repertoire Fund in sub-Saharan Africa, we were very deliberate in finding organisations not only reflective of the focus pillars but also across various countries to reflect the diversity of the continent,” Warner Music Africa managing director and senior vice-president of special projects in sub-Saharan Africa Temi Adeniji, who is also the vice-president of WMG/BFF SJF, said.

Organisations that will benefit from the SJF Repertoire Fund include the African Leadership Academy (South Africa), Africa Digital Media Institute (Kenya) and WeThinkCode (South Africa).

African Leadership Academy CEO Bilha Ndirangu said: “We are grateful and excited to work with Warner Music South Africa to expand ALA’s work in the creative industries and in particular for our students and alumni. Thank you for enabling us to invest in the next generation of Africa's creative leaders.”

WeThinkCode head of finance Tinashe Chigodo said: “This grant will go a long way in supporting our mission to drive the inclusion of women and youth from underserved communities in the digital economy and will enable us to equip more young Africans with software development skills and lead them into meaningful work opportunities so that they can be drivers of tech innovation on the continent.”

Below are the 13 grantees of the fund: