Global Afrobeats star Tiwa Savage (46) is deeply invested in the future of African music. She launched the Tiwa Savage Music Foundation and is partnering with Berklee College of Music to expand access to world-class music education in Nigeria.
The foundation’s first initiative is the Berklee, Nigeria: Tiwa Savage Intensive Music Program. Berklee faculty will be in Lagos from April 23-26, 2026, to lead a fully-funded four-day intensive training session for 100 emerging Nigerian music creators. The program is the first Berklee College of Music event in West Africa and a milestone for a region that is driving the rapid growth of the global music economy.
“Afrobeats has captured the world’s attention, but attention alone is not enough to sustain the industry. Talent is universal, but access is not,” the singer told CNN.
The program combines theory and real-world applications, including music production, composition, sound engineering, harmony, and ear training, which is the ability to identify musical elements such as pitch, chords, and melody just by sound. Elements of music publishing, copyright, and entertainment law will also be covered.
“You’d be surprised how much you can learn in four days,” Savage said in an exclusive interview with CNN. “It will give you a taste of the possibilities and expose you to parts of music that you might not have realized you were drawn to.”
The program culminates in a live ensemble performance, during which top participants may be selected for future scholarships and online coursework to Berklee in Boston, Massachusetts. We position our intensive programs not as one-off experiences, but as starting points for long-term education, global careers, and sustainable paths in the music industry.
Savage says the foundation was born out of both experience and urgency. With annual tuition fees alone at major international music schools ranging from $40,000 to $60,000, excluding living expenses, formal music education is out of reach for most young creatives in Nigeria and across the continent. Savage said the foundation is designed to close that gap by covering full tuition and turning opportunity into access.
“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years,” she said.
Savage attended Berklee on a scholarship as a young artist, an opportunity she believes fundamentally reshaped her career. There, she was exposed not only to performance, but also to the entire structure of the music business, including production, sound engineering, publishing, film scoring, and other disciplines that make the industry work behind the scenes.
“That experience changed the way I looked at music,” she said. “I realized that talent alone is not enough. It is organization, education, and exposure that allow creators to compete in the world.”
Tiwa Savage Music Foundation was established to address that gap. Its mission goes beyond artists and focuses on producers, composers, engineers and music business professionals, whose roles Savage says are essential to building a sustainable creative economy.
“The music industry is a value chain,” she said. “You can be the most talented artist in the world, but without the people who create, capture, protect and monetize the music, there is no industry. If we want African music to be around in five, 10, 20 years, we need to invest in the entire ecosystem.”
Timing is important. Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the fastest growing regions for recorded music globally. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), revenue in 2024 exceeded $110 million. Afrobeats streaming on Spotify has increased by over 500% in the past five years. Nigeria is one of Africa’s largest music export markets and one of the youngest countries in the world, with a median population of approximately 18 years.
Savage warns that without education and institutional support, African creators risk remaining economically vulnerable even as they gain global attention.
“We have the world’s attention now,” she said. “But education transforms visibility into empowerment. It gives creators the tools to go from mere talent to global industry leaders, innovators and stakeholders.”
Beyond the Lagos intensive program, the foundation’s long-term goals include awarding scholarships to Nigerian students to study at Berklee in Boston, and eventually establishing a permanent music school in Nigeria.
“That’s the bigger vision,” Savage said. “It’s about building something that will live on beyond me: something that creates structure, opportunity, and ownership for future generations of African creators.”
Berklee, Nigeria: Applications for the Tiwa Savage Intensive Music Program open on February 24, 2026 and close on March 20, 2026. This program is fully funded and requires no tuition fees for accepted participants.
