Creative Business Academy for Africa · 2027
Become the business behind the talent.
Africa has never lacked talent. It has lacked the business behind it. In ten months you don't study the industry — you run a company inside it: develop an artist, a director and a designer, release real work to the world, and own it. Across Music, Film & Fashion.
Why CBA?
You see the talent. You never see the business behind it.
The manager who closed the deal. The A&R who heard it first. The marketer who made the world care. The lawyer who made sure they got paid. Those people are rare — and they're who Africa's creative economy is desperate for.
CBA for Africa builds that business — and that business could be you.
What you leave with
A company you ran
Ten months operating a real creative enterprise, not a case study.
Real work, released
Music on DSPs, a film premiered, a collection launched — to real audiences.
Real IP you own
You finish on a stage at the AMEDI showcase with a body of work that's yours.
An industry network
Faculty, partners and 1,500+ alumni across the continent and diaspora.
Three Schools, one ecosystem
Choose your craft. Build the business of all three.
Every student specialises in one School, then joins a merged group that develops an artist, a director and a designer together.
Music Business
MBA — develop the artist
A&R, management, rights, distribution and the release — the executives behind the streaming era.
- Talent & A&R
- Royalties & finance
- PR, radio & DSP strategy
Film Business
FBA — develop the director
Producing for the high-volume Nollywood model — from production management to global distribution.
- Production & post
- Content & social
- Distribution & licensing
Fashion Business
FAB — develop the designer
From sourcing in West Africa to a runway showcase — supply chain, retail strategy and export.
- Styling & brand
- Marketing & retail
- IP, sourcing & export
How the year works
The “2 + 3 + 5” model
Two months of specialised craft, three months of the shared Integrated Core, five months running your company through to a public release and a showcase.
2 · Vertical
Deep, specialised training in your School — Music, Film or Fashion — inside your permanent House.
3 · Horizontal Core
The shared business curriculum — ventures, finance, IP, reputation, data, AI and pan-African trade.
5 · Execution
Merge, create, release publicly, promote for real, and present a grand strategy — to the showcase stage.
Your House for life
12 Houses. Named for Africa's greatest kingdoms.
Every student belongs to one of twelve permanent Houses — Kush, Ife, Mali, Oyo, Axum, Benin, Zulu, Ashanti, Songhai, Kongo, Luba, Nubia. Each is a complete creative enterprise you'll carry for the rest of your career.
Where our people go
The business minds behind African creativity.
“I started at CBA. Now I run rooms in the industry. This is where the business minds are made.”
Our alumni work at Sony Music Publishing, Mavin, The Orchard, Audiomack, ONErpm and beyond — and have founded 15+ businesses of their own.
Academics
A 140-class curriculum, in four languages.
Built to a professional production standard across the three Schools and the Integrated Core — with a talent programme, practitioner workshops and craft camps. Delivered in English, French, Swahili and Portuguese.
Music classes
Film classes
Fashion classes
Integrated Core
Key dates
The road to 6 February 2027
Talent is everywhere
Be the difference.
Registrations for the 2027 cohort are open. Ten months that change your career start here.