Outgoing Cabinet Secretary for Youth, Creative Economy and Sports, Kipchumba Murkomen, said on Thursday that Kenya had paid Sh323,850,000 ($2.5 million) in its bid to become the capital of the African Grammy Awards Centre.
Mr Murkomen said Kenya had signed an agreement with Grammy Global Ventures (GGV).
In a statement, the CS said that the country signed the agreement on September 25, 2023, in which the two parties committed to collaborate in the establishment of the Africa Academy headquarters or a centre in Kenya.
The Africa Academy entails a headquarters and centres where Grammy-branded events will be held in the region.
He further said that the Academy also signed MoUs with other African countries which included Rwanda, South Africa, and Nigeria for consideration to implement the Africa Academy as founder members.
“We have met all our financial obligations as stated in the agreement by making our 4th and final installment of USD 2,500,000 this month. As it stands we are in pole position to host the Academy,” the CS said.
According to Mr Murkomen, for the Africa Academy to be realised, at least two founding members have to pay an equal fee of USD 2,500,000.
"The money is to be used to set up and operationalize the Africa headquarters in the initial stages. If more than two founding members pay the fee, GGV will use the excess money equally in the founding member countries to stage Grammy events. We are ready to host the Africa Academy or its centre in Kenya once it is confirmed,” said Mr Murkomen.
“The project can be hosted in our 160-acre Digital Media City at the Konza Technopolis which we have already signed financial agreements with the Republic of Korea for the construction of the anchor building and the site infrastructure. The development is at the design stage.”
He further revealed that that at the time of signing the agreement the Kenya Shilling was performing significantly weaker against the US dollar.
"We saved a lot of money in subsequent instalments after the Kenya Shilling gained in strength this year," he added.
President William Ruto, while speaking at a town hall meeting at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) to mark the second anniversary of the Hustler Fund in early December, said Kenya had invested Sh500 million in its bid and emphasized his administration's dedication to strengthening the creative industry and positioning the country as a leader in global entertainment.
"The Sh500 million is already paid. This is not just a plan, it’s a done deal," the president said. "I’m confident that our efforts are on track, as the representative from the Grammys here can attest."
The statement by Mr Murkomen clarified that the money was not for hosting the Grammy Awards but for the African Grammy Awards Centre.
This move to move to Africa aligns with recent initiatives by the Recording Academy, the organization behind the Grammy Awards, to spotlight Africa’s musical talent on the global stage.
Early this year, the Academy introduced the inaugural Best African Music Performance Grammy category at the 2024 Grammys, celebrating recordings that embody unique local expressions from across the continent.
The addition of the African categories has been attributed to the meteoric rise in the global popularity of African Music, especially Afrobeats.
The Africa Academy will come two years after the Latin Grammy Awards made history in 2023 by hosting their ceremony in Seville, Spain, the first time the event was held outside the United States.
This milestone came through a three-year partnership with the Andalusian government, celebrating the deep cultural connections between Latin America and Spain.
The Latin Grammys' international expansion underscores its unique mission to showcase the diversity of Latin music worldwide, a move that Kenya could emulate in its bid for the African Grammys.
The Grammy Awards, sometimes known as the Grammys, is one of the most prominent music awards events in the world. The Recording Academy's annual awards acknowledge remarkable achievements in the music business, across the globe and have consistently taken place in the U.S., primarily in Los Angeles and New York.
The Grammy Global Ventures is the international arm of the Recording Academy, the company that presents the Academy Awards.
