Officially set up in September 2007, the African Music Export Office (Bureau export de la musique africaine, BEMA) is a network of professional music organizations that aims to help promote and export African music on a regional and international scale. 

Over the course of 2008, BEMA is running a series of training sessions for its members in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea, as well as a training for trainer’s session in Burkina Faso.  The Global Alliance is sponsoring several of these sessions specially conceived to help producers from the region to hone artist management and promotion in addition to music marketing and exporting skills.

During the 2008 edition of the World Music Expo (WOMEX), to be held in Seville, Spain from 29 October to 2 November, the Global Alliance will also support a mentoring scheme for a selected group of producers from the BEMA network.  International experts will offer them individual on-site training and counsel prior, during and after the event so that they can make the most of this unique opportunity to showcase their work.

Moreover, the main challenges BEMA faces in achieving its objectives, and the implementation means to do so, will be presented in the framework of the WOMEX Conference session. Thus, an incentive will be given to the construction of new synergies between public, private and civil society stakeholders around BEMA, in order to, on the one hand, help foster the emergence of a structured music sector in the region and, on the other hand, promote the circulation of African cultural goods and services in the international arena.

To this end, a number of partners including the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Organisation internationale de la francophonie, African and European professional associations, West African governmental institutions or WOMEX have already join forces.