“Connect”: Ouagadougou's Afrobeat unveils its 15th edition, wiring African talent into the markets

The poster is official, and it says it all: a microphone reaching out to the continent, silhouettes celebrating, and one word that lands like a manifesto — CONNECT. For its 15th edition, the Festival Afrobeat International unfolds seven strands: concerts, a residency, entrepreneurship, master classes, networking, the Afrobeat village and a social programme. Behind the event, two organisations keep Burkina Faso's cultural machine running: the Réseau Art Émergence, which has carried the festival since its creation, and the agency Challenge Communication.

Fifteen editions of Afrobeat heritage

Founded in 2012 in the wake of Fela Kuti, the creator of Afrobeat, the festival was born of a conviction held by its founder and director, Jean Marie Nabi, known as Zopito: Ouagadougou deserves its own great Afrobeat stage. The Réseau Art Émergence — a network of cultural entrepreneurs, arts administrators, cultural journalists and artists founded in January 2011 — has built it, edition after edition, into one of the barometers of contemporary African music in Burkina Faso. Recognition followed: Best Festival in Burkina Faso at the Faso Music Awards (FAMA) in 2021 and 2022, and Best Festival at the 12 PCA in 2020.

More than a stage: a school, and a neighbourhood on the move

In Tampouy, Afrobeat is not only played in concerts. The 13th edition, in April 2025, opened with a great artistic parade through the neighbourhood's streets and a ceremony attended by three Burkinabè ministers. The 14th, “Level Up!”, held from May 29 to 31, 2026, added a training programme called “Éclosion” — cultural administration and communication, general stage management — led by experts from Senegal, Burkina Faso and Mali, among them Mory Touré, Festival TV's patron. And all year long, the festival works for its district: an improved living environment for residents, a rehabilitated and equipped preschool centre, health consultations and screening, water and sanitation in five of the capital's primary schools, and a children's space during the event.

Why “Connect” is the right word

Because it is the crux for African music: a talent without a network stays invisible. By placing markets in its theme, on the same level as talents and cultures, Ouagadougou's Afrobeat owns what the continent's artists live every day: creating is no longer enough — you have to circulate, train, and meet presenters and funders. The Burkinabè capital, which also hosts the African Music Meetings (REMA), asserts itself edition after edition as one of the places where the African music industry talks to itself. The 15th edition wants to be the crossroads where those conversations become contracts.