Ninel Musson of Vth Season has been invited as a speaker at this year’s prestigious Harvard Business School’s 25th Annual Africa Business Conference.

The conference is held on 24 and 25 March 2023, at the Harvard Business School campus in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

In celebration of the conference’s silver anniversary, the theme is “Africa Accelerated: Leaps and Bounds into the Next Decade,” as it expresses the organisers’ belief that the continent has reached an inflexion point in its growth trajectory.

Ninel Musson is the founder of a leading independent record label in South Africa, called Vth Season, and has more than 15 years of experience developing talented African artists into award-winning national and continental successes. She is also a consultant in the creative industries, championing independent projects in culture, music and creative tech. Ninel will provide insight from the perspective of SA. In particular, she will talk about current developments, as well as ways to support the industry and artists in SA.

“It’s great that the cultural and creative industries in Africa continue to be in the global spotlight. It’s our time and I am honoured to represent the South African industry in this way,” Ninel shares. “I would like to see global interest translate into tangible support and investment for the growth of our industry. I see African music and arts as a unique investable asset”, she adds.

Ninel will join other industry representatives from various geographic locations across the USA and Africa, to address the topic of Harnessing the Potential of Africa’s Creative Economy, which will be a deep insight into the trends shaping the ecosystem for creatives in Africa, as well as the opportunities that exist to further improve and develop the industry.

On the panel alongside Ninel Musson, are most notably World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation and special guests for the conference this year include Tiwa Savage and Idris Elba.

Ninel will undoubtedly be joined in Boston by colleagues from the music, art and fashion sectors, as well as investors and funders from the US and the African diaspora and beyond.

Ninel Lara Musson is a music executive and media entrepreneur, operating at the forefront of the African creative content arena, for the past 15 years. As one of the only female founders of an Independent Record Label and Management Agency on the continent, Ninel is dedicated to the development of the music and creative industry.

Transforming Vth Season into one of the most impactful labels in Southern Africa, known for investing in, partnering with and catapulting the successful careers of talented artists namely Ami Faku, Tresor and iconic hiphop superstar, the late AKA, with a company track-record recognised by several notable awards such as South African Music Awards (SAMAs), Amapiano Awards, MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs), All Africa Music Awards, as well as international award nominations from the likes of the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards and MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs), Ninel’s agency now looks to champion independent projects in culture, music and creative tech.

With a foundation in finance and banking, Ninel serves the creative industry on the board of the Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA) and The Official SA Chart and holds a Bachelor of Commerce, in Corporate Finance and Risk Management from the University of the Witwatersrand, a Bachelor of Commerce Honours degree from the University of South Africa and a Masters of Management from WITS Business School, with distinction. To drive dialogue around the creative sector, Ninel participates in numerous platforms such as Midem (Cannes, France) and the largest music conference in Africa, Music Imbizo (Durban, South Africa).