News
Spotify Announces Grammy Nominee Somi to Join Its EQUAL Music Program
Spotify has announced Rwandan-Ugandan jazz singer and songwriter Somi as the latest African singer to join its EQUAL Music Program.
Spotify created EQUAL as a global initiative to cultivate gender equality in music and support female creators under one brand.
The Grammy-nominated Somi is set to release a new album in July, that will pay tribute to the iconic Miriam ‘Mama Africa’ Makeba.
The album features renditions of Miriam Makeba’s greatest hits and the first single from her aptly named album – Zenzile” The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba – is a remake of the 1967 hit ‘Pata Pata’. She has also written an original musical about Miriam Makeba called ‘Dreaming Zenzile,’ which will be released towards the end of the year.
Somi made her debut in 2014, with the album ‘The Lagos Music Salon’. The album, which was inspired by a creative sabbatical in Lagos, featured singer Angelique Kidjo and rapper Common and landed at number one on US and international jazz charts.
Over the years, Somi has built a music career around transatlantic storytelling, narrating the stories of Africans and the continent that aim to raise awareness on social issues.
“Our aim, with a program such as EQUAL, is to upend the inequalities that women face in the music industry by creating a space on the platform that allows us to solely amplify the work of female creators.
“Somi’s music is a celebration of Africa’s history and sound and of the legacy of a female artist whose impact through the arts was felt across the continent and the diaspora. The kind of impact we aim to continue to amplify through EQUAL,” says Phiona Okumu, Head of Music, Sub Saharan Africa.
Somi adds, “I’m honored to represent global female voices as part of Spotify’s EQUAL program – especially as I gear up to release my new album that honors our first great lady of African song. Truly the EQUAL initiative embodies the spirit of Makeba’s legacy and the generations of African women who have benefited from her journey.”
To further support the EQUAL Music Spotify launched the EQUAL Hub, a dedicated space to celebrate women creators and help increase awareness of their work among fans.
EFCC
The African Development Bank Group last week approved an investment of €6.5 million in the Saviu II fund in order to support technology start-ups through their seed phase and first institutional fundraising, mainly in French-speaking Central and West Africa.
The Bank will invest €4.5 million as equity and €2 million as a first-loss hedging tranche on behalf of the European Commission, under the Boost Africa Programme.
This participation of the Bank Group will enable the Saviu II fund to give priority to companies with a strong technological or digital component.
Saviu II, the second investment vehicle of Saviu Partners, plans to invest between €500,000 and €3 million in about 20 technology or technology-oriented business-to-business start-ups in the seed phase or carrying out first institutional fundraising.
The Saviu II venture capital fund aims to make at least 60% of its commitments in the French-speaking countries of West and Central Africa: Côte d ‘Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin, Senegal, Togo, Burkina Faso and Mali.
The fund can also co-invest in promising technology companies in East Africa that have a strong team and business model, and whose strategy includes entering the market in French-speaking West African countries and establishing a strong presence there.
In addition, the fund will devote a dedicated envelope to pre-seed investments, focusing on minority equity investments, usually in co-investment with studios, incubators or other ecosystem partners.
Nigerian Government has signed a $1.3 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) via the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) to fund an alumina refinery, national geoscience mapping, and a strategic investment vehicle for mining growth.
Special Assistant to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori, said the refinery will process one million tonnes of bauxite yearly using a modern Bayer process, powered by an on-site gas-fired cogeneration plant.
Minister Dele Alake called it a transformative milestone boosting GDP, aligning with reforms that improve investment climate, regulations, and licensing to attract private capital. He directed agencies to fast-track permits.
The 20-year project at 95% utilization eyes 19 million tonnes total output, $1.2 billion annual GDP addition, $25 billion economic impact, and $8 billion forex earnings, per feasibility studies.
SMDF Executive Secretary Fatima Shinkafi termed it the agency’s biggest funding deal, supporting value-addition policy.
The partnership extends to geoscience mapping for mineral data, de-risking exploration, and a joint vehicle for mining assets.
Permanent Secretary Engr. Farouk Yabo praised the reforms. Shinkafi signed for government; AFC’s Franklin Edochie for the corporation, witnessed by AFC CEO Samaila Zubairu.
Tomori positioned it as Nigeria’s largest private mining investment and FDI magnet.
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