Total number of awarded grants: 14
Total value of awarded grants: €873 000.00
Number of countries awarded: 8
Sound Connects Fund – Awarded Grants 2021 - 2023
Music In Africa Foundation and Goethe-Institut in 2021, started the implementation of the Sound Connects Fund, a project made possible with funding from the ACP-EU Culture Programme which is implemented by the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and funded by the European Union (EU). The Sound Connects Fund aims at supporting creatives in Southern Africa in nine countries namely – Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and eSwatini. The project supports creatives and practitioners through sub grants to improve their products and services, in gaining more access to markets and to finances, as well as in implementing initiatives focused on audience literacy.
2023 BENEFICIARIES
Name of project: Building the Ecosystem of Creative and Cultural Industry for the Film and Design Sectors in Southern Africa (BECCI-SA)
Brief description of project: The project seeks to promote cultural heritage through creativity of the film and fashion sectors. It will explore the value and supply chain ecosystem of the film industry, its productivity, marketing, sales and distribution of locally made films in Lesotho and Botswana, and to industrialise film by improving productivity of the sector and its supporting sectors. This will be accomplished by selecting and training filmmakers in the countries, producing a film, developing a screening cinema experience in local communities and then culminating in an industry conference and a streaming platform.
Partner organisation/s: GEM institute
City & country: Maseru, Lesotho
Implementation dates: May 2023 – December 2023
Total project budget: €68 000.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Jisabu – Cover versions of Angolan oral tradition
Brief description of project: The project will create audiovisual content for children and youth in the form of a series of short audio and animation films available through digital educational platforms and national media. Each film will promote a musical version of an Angolan proverb in an animated format subtitled in Portuguese. The content will be used as two-way learning material, which will connect learners to the ancestral teachings that lie at the root of their society.
Partner organisation/s: Nine Filmes
City & country: Luanda, Angola
Implementation dates: May 2023 – December 2023
Total project budget: €68 000.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: MUSIC4MALAWI
Brief description of project: The project will train young creatives in digital, entrepreneurial and creative skills through three flagship trainings: Digi Savvy (digital skills) training, Nyenyezi Fellowship (entrepreneurship) training and Kwathu Upgrade (creative) training, aiming to build capacity of young artists and creatives in Malawi. The programming will include an opportunity for participants to compete in groups of 10 for the production of musical products (video, song recording, etc.). The project will culminate in the Music4Malawi Live Grand Showcase where the participants will perform the work they creted during the training. The showcase event will be broadcast digitally.
Partner organisation/s: Ntha Foundation
City & country: Lilongwe, Malawi
Implementation dates: May 2023 -December 2023
Total project budget: €68 000.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Chope, Macua and Sena Cultural Practices: Creativity, spiritualities and local strategies to mitigate the impacts of global climate change.
Brief description of project: The project intends to develop research and audiovisual documentation of the current cultural practices of three ethnic groups in Mozambique: the Macuas, the Senas and the Chopes. The project aims to understand the cultural strategies that these people have in place with regard to climate change. Are there new songs that speak about the tragedies caused by recent cyclones? Do we have artists in these communities who, through their songs and dances, tell the community what is happening on our planet? These are some of the questions that the project is looking to explore.
The project will culminate in a contemporary and interdisciplinary installation based on and inspired by the elements studied in the three communities.
Partner organisation/s: Nzango Artists Residency
City & country: Matola, Mozambique
Implementation dates: May 2023 – December 2023
Total project budget: €68 000.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Maputo Fast Forward (MFF)
Brief description of project: This project will provide the Mozambican cultural and creative ecosystem opportunities to further capacitate its actors through an academy – with year-long activities, workshops, artistic residencies and research to be shared during the MFF2024 festival and beyond. The three primary outputs will be to develop the MFF academy and the ‘New Kids’ production, and avail knowledge productions on an online platform.
Partner organisation/s: 16Neto Limitada
City & country: Maputo, Mozambique
Implementation dates: May 2023 – December2023
Total project budget: €67 000.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Project-Roll-A-Dice
Brief description of project: The gaming-centred initiative will allow for the effective and creative dissemination of information about the cultural and creative sectors in Africa. The key outputs are the Swift 30 boardgame (an African edition of 30 Seconds) and a supplementary TV game show, ‘Swift Reloaded’. The ultimate aim is to tap into an unexplored avenue of cultural and art presentation that’ll both educate active participants and open up a new market for local creative entrepreneurs.
Partner organisation/s: AfroPrint Line
City & country: Windhoek, Namibia
Implementation dates: May 2023 – December 2023
Total Project budget: €67 000.00
Online & social Media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: The Barefeet Carnival
Brief description of project: The carnival is a vibrant event bringing together upcoming artists to learn from four experts in the fields of costume design, contemporary dance, float and puppetry, marketing, networking, and financial management. Activities will culminate in a parade where the participating artists will have the opportunity to showcase their work, collaborate on creative projects and market their products to a wider audience while celebrating the cultural diversity of the region.
Partner organisation/s: BareFeet Theatre
City & country: Lusaka, Zambia
Implementation dates: May 2023 – December 2023
Total Project budget: €67 000.00
Online & social media: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Open Arms Music Project
Brief description of project: The Open Arms Music Project is an initiative that aims to encourage Namibian youth to harness the potential of the music sector by professionalising them and equipping them with the right knowledge, tools and resources to actively participate in the music scene in order to build a sustainable performing arts industry. The capacity-building programme will be held in six different regions over several months and cover a variety of modules such as Monetising Digital Content, Working With Record Labels, Copyright Law, and Funding Opportunities.
Partner organisation/s: Open Arms Trust
City & country: Windhoek, Namibia
Implementation dates: May 2023 – December 2023
Total Project budget: €67 000.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Fundação Fernando Leite Couto Collection of Children's Books and Audiobooks
Brief description of project: The project aims to teach and encourage reading among the youth within urban and rural communities, whose access to books is limited. New literary products will be created in a variety of formats (audiobooks, video books and illustrated publications), intended for a reading programme in partnership with the Kulemba Literary Association.
Partner organisation/s: Fundação Fernando Leite Couto
City & country: Maputo, Mozambique
Implementation dates: May 2023 – December 2023
Total Project budget: €66 000.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Performing Arts Business and Digital Distribution
Brief description of project: The Performing Arts Business and Digital Distribution project is a mobile dance sector capacity-building programme. It aims to fast-track development, improve digital and business management skills and efficiency, while facilitating the recognition and standardisation of salaries and performance fees in the dance sector among cultural and contemporary dancers, dance groups and dance associations from all 10 provinces of Zimbabwe.
Partner organisation/s: Chenhaka Trust
City & country: Mutare, Zimbabwe
Implementation dates: May 2023 – December 2023
Total Project budget: €62 000.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Vukubone Sound Lab
Brief description of project: The Vukubone Sound Lab is an eight-week accelerator programme that aims to fast-track and amplify early-stage or emerging sound artists (music producers/sound designers, singer/songwriters, DJs and podcasters) to give them a springboard to launch their careers. Participants will be rewarded with certificates and will join the Vukubone Alumni Network upon completion of the programme. The accelerator is a collaboration between the eSwatini National Council of Arts & Culture and Antidote Music.
Partner organisation/s: eSwatini National Council of Arts & Culture and Antidote Music
City & country: Mbabane, eSwatini
Implementation dates: August 2022 – April 2023
Total Project budget: €60 000.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Musicable
Brief description of project: The Musicable project is about building capacity for people with disabilities with a specific focus on women in music in Zimbabwe. The project aims to work with artists with disabilities, pairing them with mentors. They will also be equipped with home-recording tools and participate in workshops with industry professionals and leaders within the arts and culture sectors on various topics.
Partner organisation/s: POVO Afrika
City & country: Harare, Zimbabwe
Implementation dates: May 2023 – December 2023
Total Project budget: €51 000.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: The Lesotho Archive Project
Brief description of project: The project will collect and archive recordings, videos, photographs and other materials related to the country's rap culture and history, with a focus on both the early years of rap in Lesotho, as well as the latter period. Through this project, the organisers hope to provide a platform for local artists (writers, videographers, broadcasters) and to contribute to the understanding and appreciation of the value of documenting niche scenes in Lesotho and beyond.
Partner organisation/s: Sky Alpha HD
City & country: Maseru, Lesotho
Implementation dates: May 2023 – December 2023
Total Project budget: €49 000.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Zomba City Festival 2023
Brief description of project: This project is a four-day arts festival in the green historical city of Zomba in southern Malawi. The festival will include poetry, theatre, film, fashion, visual arts, music, workshops, games and more. Some 150 artists will showcase their talent onstage with possibly six Malawian female artists performers backed by a full band. Twenty young Malawian creatives will receive training and get the chance to work in the festival event office.
Partner organisation/s: Pakachere Backpackers & Creative Centre
City & country: Zomba, Malawi
Implementation dates: April 2023 – August 2023
Total project budget: €45 000.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
2022 Beneficiaries
Total number of awarded grants: 12
Total value of awarded grants: €911 037,00
Number of countries awarded: 7
Name of project: Collabo-Nation
Brief description of project: The Collabo-Nation project seeks to connect and unite the continent through a series of unique regional music collaborations. Collabo-Nation will support the weaving together of Africa’s rich and diverse musical genres and inspire a game-changing creative narrative, contributing to the development of new audiences, inspiring social cohesion, and building linkages between cultural industries and networks.
Partner organisation/s: House on Fire
City & country: eSwatini
Implementation dates: August 2022 – August 2023
Total project budget: €100 000.00
Online platform: CLICK HERE
Name of project: MTC Windhoek Fashion Week
Brief description of project: MTC Windhoek Fashion Week will be pairing sound engineers and musicians with local fashion designers to create original fashion sound and music for their fashion week. The project will also work with young creatives under the age of 18 to design apparel as well host a series of pop-up shops and masterclasses.
Partner organisation/s: Windhoek Fashion Week CC (Namibia)
City & country: Namibia
Implementation dates: August 2022 – August 2023
Total project budget: €100 000.00
Online platform: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Malawi Digital Archives
Brief description of project: The Malawi Digital Archives project will contribute to the protection of creative goods by digitising the copyright works in sectors such as music, film, photography and literature. The project will also support the acceleration of e-commerce in the copyright sector by creating a digital platform for easy access and distribution of copyright goods to harness the development of the creative sector in Malawi.
Partner organisation/s: Copyright Society of Malawi
City & country: Malawi
Implementation dates: August 2022 -August 2023
Total Project budget: €100 00.00
Online platform: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Rackless Abutu Residency
Brief description of project: Rackless Abutu is a multidisciplinary residency focused on artists, artist managers and booking agents to ensure the current generation of Zambian and southern African artists augment the Zamrock music industry. The project envisages the residents producing new bodies of work, having access to new markets, strengthen capacities among professionals, with support for mobility and exchange.
Partner organisation/s: Modzi Arts
City & country: Zambia
Implementation dates: August 2022 – June 2023
Total project budget: €100 000.00
Online platform: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Quack Quack Duck
Brief description of project: Centerprise Investments Ltd T/A Chaftop Animation Studio will animate a 26-episode children’s TV series titled Quack Quack Duck. The project is designed to develop the creativity, performance, originality and cultural awareness among its target audience of junior school children (7 – 12-year-olds). Simultaneously, the project will increase and sharpen the capacity and skills of creatives who will work on the series as writers, animators, video editors and actors.
Partner organisation/s: Centerprise Investments Ltd T/A Chaftop Animation Studio
City & country: Zimbabwe
Implementation dates: August 2022 – August 2023
Total project budget: €97 000.00
Online platform: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Nzinga Residency – MovArt Social Project (MASP)
Brief description of project: The Nzinga Residency will host three one-month long residencies in Luanda, Angola. Each residency will include international and local female musicians and visual artists who will collaborate on several works. Additionally, the residency will host a series of educational workshops and open studios to foster exchange and education. The objective of the project is to connect emerging artists from the African continent with international audiences.
Partner organisation/s: MOVART arte me movimento
City & country: Angola
Implementation dates: July 2022 – July 2023
Total project budget: €90 700.00
Online platform: CLICK HERE
Name of Project: Sounds of Nam: A National Tour
Brief Description of Project: The Sounds of Nam Music Tour will be a nationwide, monthly musical showcase taking place in different parts of Namibia, featuring artists from different regions of the country. The headlining act will be an established artist who is native to each respective region; they will perform alongside emerging talents who will be found through social media auditions. The project will run for 10 months.
Partner organisation/s: Free Your Mind Entertainment CC
City & country: Namibia
Implementation dates: August 2022 – July 2023
Total project budget: €69 454.00
Online platform: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Promotion of Traditional and Indigenous Communication
Brief description of project: The PTIC project is in support of the promotion of traditional and indigenous communication systems of the people of Eastern Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. It seeks to facilitate the documenting and recording, both visually and sonically, of traditional and cultural music and dance during the traditional ceremonies of the indigenous communities in these regions.
Partner organisation/s: Chipata Radio Services T/As Breeze FM
City & country: Zambia
Implementation dates: August 2022 – April 2023
Total project budget: € 62 406.00
Online platform: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Nahota Sea Sound
Brief description of project: Nahota Sea Sound will be the first Mozambican VR immersive experience which will be housed online. It will capture the rich Swahili oral heritage of the coastal fishing people of the Island of Mozambique; showcasing and archiving their songs, chants and stories. The project will work with emerging creatives and talents from different fields including filmmaking, oral culture, music traditions, storytelling and technology.
Partner organisation/s: YC Films
City & country: Mozambique
Implementation dates: September 2022 – May 2023
Total project budget: € 60 003.00
Online platform: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Macuti Festival
Brief description of project: The Macuti Festival will exhibit traditional dances, music and plays from the Island of Mozambique with the aim to promote, value and safeguard local cultural practices and traditions. The project also aims to train and empower local cultural agents in matters of cultural management, cultural marketing and entrepreneurship in order to make cultural products a sustainable business on the island.
Partner organisation/s: Gabinete de Conservação da Ilha de Moçambique- GACIM
City & country: Mozambique
Implementation dates: August 2022 - March 2023
Total project budget: €59 890.00
Online platform: CLICK HERE
Name of Project: Enhanced Capacity for Young Theatre Maker's
Brief description of project: The project will use digital technologies to enhance the capacity of local young theatre practitioners in Zimbabwe on the sustainable utilization of online platforms for cultural promotion and commercial venture. The Zimbabwe Online Theatre Television (ZOTT) will blend the power of digital technology as an empowerment tool for social transformation, with thought-provoking theatrical content in the production, packaging and distribution of physical theatre plays. Live physical theatre performances and post-performance discussions will be conducted in 5 provinces in Zimbabwe.
Partner organisation/s: Zimbabwe Theatre Academy Trust
City & country: Zimbabwe
Implementation dates: August 2022 – April 2023
Total project budget: € 35 990.00
Online platform: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Promovendo o Acesso Aos produtos de Artes e Cultura para Crianças na Periferia de Maputo
Brief description of project: The goal of this project is to create access to arts and culture for children living in the periphery of the capital city of Mozambique. It will do so by hosting various creative workshops, digitizing music courses for children, creating a Youtube Channel with music lessons content, as well as delivering open performances.
Partner organisation/s: Xiluva Artes Lda
City & country: Mozambique
Implementation dates: August 2022 – March 2023
Total project budget: € 35 594.00
Online platform: CLICK HERE
2021 Beneficiaries
Total number of awarded grants: 10
Total value of awarded grants: €1,081,443.90
Number of countries awarded: 7
Name of project: Gule 2.0
Brief description of project: Gule 2.0 is an incubator program that aims to elevate the Zambian Performing Arts sector. Circus Zambia will host an all-encompassing series of 10 masterclasses where 10 of the most ambitious performing art groups of Zambia will engage with local and international experts to elevate their work. The masterclasses culminate in the Gule 2.0 Festival, a new platform where all the participating companies get a chance to showcase their new work. The festival provides a space to engage with new audiences and arts professionals. The performing art groups will also work with marketing professional to create unique promotion materials, which will be shared on an online platform.
Partner organisation/s: Circus Zambia
City & country: Lusaka, Zambia
Implementation dates: 1st January – 31 December 2022
Total Project budget: €69,800.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Crossed Arts Creative Hub
Brief description of project: The first initiative of its kind in Mozambique, this creative hub based in Maputo, a city that merges people from diverse cultures and nationalities, aims to contribute to the needed fast-paced development of the local creative economy. The hub will provide a space for artists to create, be trained and advised in skills for business and arts, connect to a network of potential partners and access to a vast array of services and shared infrastructure aimed at elevating the value and visibility of their work to consumers of cultural goods and services. The project will create a unique space for potential clients to get advice on which services can best serve their needs. Common areas for creative professionals to work and collaborate will be provided while being able to have meals and drinks without interrupting their creative flow. From music performances to workshops the hub will host a vast array of activities aimed at bringing a new dynamic to the local creative economy.
Partner organisation/s: Khuzula Investments
City & Country: Maputo, Mozambique
Implementation dates: December 2021 – May 2023
Total project budget: €180,000.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Music Crossroads Academies Business School
Brief description of project: Implemented in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, the project will establish a hybrid (online and contact learning)music business program within the already operating academies run by the reputable Music Crossroads Southern Africa regional program. The Music Business school is intended to capacitate the smooth flow of business along the music industry value chain. The effort to improve the capacities of professionals in the music industry will positively impact trends in music publishing, licensing, booking, touring, copyright and royalties, administration and management, marketing and the entire music entrepreneurship concept, all of which is certain to improve music consumption and monetization of the same. The upscaling of online learning platforms by this project is intended to embrace the benefits of digital operations most of which improve efficiency and convenience. The Sounds of Africaproduction is an application tool posed by the project in order to allow creative professionals and leaders enrolled in the program to practically apply innovative skills in booking, touring, distribution and marketing as learnt in the music business school program.
Partner organisation/s: Music Crossroads Zimbabwe Trust
City & country: Harare, Zimbabwe
Implementation dates: December 2021 – July 2023
Total project budget: €179,520.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Ephemeral Tales
Brief description of project: Ephemeral Tales is a nail-biting, animated musical miniseries which draws the talents of a new generation of contemporary musicians and upcoming animators. The 4-part series produced in Zimbabwe by young artists under the guidance of the industry's renowned animation and music veterans, dives headfirst into social themes, exploring issues affecting young people in ways that most have shied away from. Ephemeral tales is produced by Kay Media Africa and the visionary minds behind Comexposed.
Partner organisation/s: Kay Media (Pty) Ltd (trading as Kay Media Africa)
City & country: Harare, Zimbabwe
Implementation dates: December 2021 – July 2022
Total Project budget: €42,990.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of Project: Strengthening the Cultural and Creative Industries in Malawi
Brief description of project: Implemented by the Department of Fine and Performing Arts of The University of Malawi, in collaboration with M-Hub, a tech and innovation hub. The overall objective of this project is to strengthen the capacities of practicing artists in Malawi through the professional development of artists, the incubation of talent, provision of professional services and facilities for sound and the establishment of an online platform for artists. This will be done by providing Malawian artists with access to otherwise inaccessible skills training by expert educators. The establishment of a Luso Entrepreneurship Hub and its first incubator program, will provide a selection of artists with the much-needed support and funding to set up their creative businesses; the establishment of the Luso Sound Lab Studio facility will impact on the general problem of scarcity of professional resources and provide artists with affordable state- of-the-art facilities for sound production and finally, the establishment of Luso la a Malawi; a first-of-its-kind dedicated online platform that will bring together useful and valuable resources for the creative industries sector in Malawi and expands the artist’s reach.
Partner organisation/s: University of Malawi
City & country: Zomba, Malawi
Implementation dates: December 2021 – June 2023
Total project budget: €179,818.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Rhythmic Africa: Unearthed
Brief description of project: Rhythmic Africa: Unearthed will be hosted by a popular, young musician who travels around Botswana immersing himself into different cultures (i.e., Kalanga, Herero, Birwa, Kgalagadi, Mbukushu, etc.). In each village, he will interact with a local folk musician who presents his craft as well as other resident creatives in the area including dancers, artists, and craftsmen. The host will explore each community digging into the creative spirit of the culture and highlight the tourism potential of the environment that raised and influences the creatives. Additionally, a scholar will briefly elucidate on the history, mechanics, and fabrication of the instruments and musical arrangements as well as the unique heritage of each community. Quihaba FX will develop a creative treatment (series bible), a sizzle reel, and a single, pilot episode for a 13-episode documentary series focused on unearthing hidden folk musicians, presenting their music in a contemporary manner, and highlighting their rich cultural heritage.
Partner organisation/s: Quihaba FX
City & country: Gaborone, Botswana
Implementation dates: December 2021 – November 2022
Total project budget: €67,000.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Exchange and regional on-line workshop on administration and
financial management of cultural projects
Brief description of project: A regional project named “Training and administrative networking in cultural and artistic projects” focused on regional online experience exchange and workshops on administration and financial management of cultural projects. One of the main project outputs is the creation of a website to support sound administrative and financial management practices.
Partner organisation/s: Sipatsi Consulting e Gestao de Projectos, LDA
City & country: Maputo, Mozambique
Implementation dates: February 2022 – September 2022
Total project budget: €47, 250.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Zambezi Connects
Brief description of project: Zambezi Connects is a three-part creative action that will promote the development of emerging creatives and new media startup organisations in and around Africa. Through the incubator and PaDen initiative, the project seeks to capacitate creatives with the relevant skills to advocate for change in their community and become self- sustainable. In addition, the project creates platforms for regional skills sharing amongst artists, through the Creative South Networkexchanges and the Regional Women’s Cypher by promoting peer to peer learning and collaboration opportunities.
Partner organisation/s: Magamba Network
City & country: Harare, Zimbabwe
Implementation dates: January 2022 – April 2023
Total project budget: €180,000.00
Online & social media: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Reappropriating Lesotho’s Cultural Heritage through New-Media
Brief description of project: The project brings together artists, Morija Museum & Archives and other key players in the cultural sector to collaborate on an educational and creative endeavour that will culminate in a full-length animation film inspired by Basotho folklore,literature and music.
Partner organisation/s: Morija Museum & Archives
City & country: Morija, Lesotho.
Implementation dates: November 2021 – December 2022
Total project budget: € 77,375,90.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE
Name of project: Project Ngandu
Brief description of project: Project Ngandu is a Ngandu Events CC initiative. The project encompasses four main components namely; the completion of Rock The Boat season 1 (four episodes), Rock The Boat season 2 (10 episodes), Ngandu Social Café (a scaled down Ngandu Festival) and a music summit. The music summit will take an approach of a masterclass where Ngandu Events will invite professionals in show business to impart knowledge to creatives based in Rundu, Namibia. The professionals will range from social media managers, music producers, visual content producers, fashion designers and more. The music summit will be recorded, packaged and shared on Ngandu TV’s YouTube channel. In addition, Ngandu Events CC will also produce Behind The Scenes episodes for each Rock The Boat. These episodes will take viewers through the making of Rock The Boat and what goes into the production of a project of this kind.
Partner organisation/s: Ngandu Events CC
City & country: Rundu, Namibia
Implementation dates: December 2021 – July 2022
Total project budget: € 57,680.00
Online & social media platforms: CLICK HERE