AFRIMA Entries Are Open for the Awards' Tenth Edition

AFRIMA entries are officially open, and the race for African music's biggest night is underway. The All Africa Music Awards, organized with the African Union, began accepting submissions worldwide on October 11, 2026, for its landmark tenth edition — and the window runs until January 10, 2027.

The awards will recognize music released across a wide stretch of time: according to NPO Reports, only works produced or released between August 10, 2025, and January 10, 2027, qualify for consideration. That eligibility span means much of the music already dominating playlists, dance challenges, and street parties this year is in play — and the AFRIMA entries window stays open for three months, closing January 10, 2027. Submissions span forty categories covering the continent's five regions and a broad sweep of genres, from Afrobeats and Amapiano to hip-hop, gospel, and highlife.

How AFRIMA entries work for the tenth edition

Anyone building a music career on the continent or in the diaspora can throw their name in. As reported by S24 Television, eligible entrants include artistes, songwriters, producers, video directors, DJs, dancers, and choreographers, alongside record labels and music executives. Crucially, unrecorded artistes of African origin living in Africa or the diaspora can also participate — so the teenager uploading beats to SoundCloud from London or the singer posting covers on YouTube from Nairobi has the same shot as a signed act.

Submissions must be made digitally through AFRIMA's official website; AFRIMA entries sent by email or other platforms will not be accepted. Applicants fill out an online registration form and provide working links to their music or videos. The entry form is available in English, French, Swahili, Arabic, and Portuguese, with a Spanish translation also on offer — a nod to how far African music's audience now stretches.

The tenth-edition calendar was set in motion well before the portal opened. The African Union and AFRIMA's international executive committee unveiled the global calendar at a roundtable in Los Angeles on September 20, 2026, with the main events locked in for Lagos, Nigeria, from May 18 to 23, 2027, according to The Gazelle News. The build-up program will touch London, Windhoek, Cotonou, Nairobi, Accra, Paris, Warri, and Port Harcourt. After AFRIMA entries close, collation and pre-screening run from January 11 through 14, 2027, adjudication follows from January 15 through 22, nominees are announced globally on January 29, and public voting runs from February 21 to May 21, 2027.

Why AFRIMA entries matter beyond the trophies

The bar for AFRIMA entries keeps rising. The ninth edition drew a record ten thousand seven hundred seventeen submissions, a figure the organizers cite as proof of the awards' growing pull across Africa and the diaspora. That previous edition, held in Lagos in January 2026, saw Rema, Burna Boy, and Asake among the big winners — a reminder that the same stage crowning today's Afrobeats headliners is the one newcomers are now applying to stand on. For more on how Afrobeats is moving right now, see FOLA's new album and Afrobeats' boldest power move this fall.

AFRIMA president Mike Dada has framed the tenth edition as bigger than a ceremony. Speaking in Los Angeles, he argued that African artistes filling arenas worldwide is only the start: visibility has to become opportunity, investment, and sustainable industry — and, as reported by BrandIconImage, he said Africa must "capture the capital" and build wealth from its culture rather than only exporting it. It is a creative-economy argument aimed squarely at a generation that already treats music as both art and hustle.

That said, the open door comes with a real filter. AFRIMA international jury member Lucy Ilado, who represents Eastern Africa, has urged emerging artistes to study the categories carefully and submit accurate information with functional links, warning that sloppy entries stall during screening and adjudication. With a record haul of submissions last time, the competition for the jury's attention will be fierce — the portal is open to everyone, but only careful entries survive the process.

For Gen Z, the takeaway is simple: if you made music between August 2025 and January 2027 and you are of African origin anywhere in the world, AFRIMA entries for the tenth edition are your way in. The Lagos stage in May 2027 will be watched across the continent and far beyond — and the road there starts with a form, a link, and a song. Browse more coverage on the music topic page.