Toleka Events is a London-based artist management and cultural production company representing contemporary and legendary African artists, and artists of African heritage, producing concerts and international touring for global audiences.
Toleka connects African talent and excellence with the global stage, producing bold experiences that honour legacy and centre African and African-Caribbean artists.
We work across music including Southern African jazz, Congolese Rumba and Soukous, Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian genres, Zouk, Mbalax, Highlife, Afrobeat and Afrobeats, as well as Jazz and Blues, while promoting new artists.
The ideas behind Toleka grew out of collaboration across cultures, music, and performance. Working with artists across different contexts revealed how music and performance carry memory, identity, and both individual and shared experience.
An invitation to collaborate with the legendary Irish folk band The Dubliners 20 years ago highlighted how legacy moves across generations, not through preservation alone, but through the meeting of cultures.
Two decades later, seeing The Dubliners touring across England’s theatres reinforced how legacy continues through performance, storytelling, and live transmission.
Encounters across contemporary genres, including London’s drum and bass scene and work connected to Shy FX through African dance, unified contemporary forms with African movement, music, beats, and performance, showing how Africa continues to ignite passion and contemporary expression.
Today, Inala, a ballet and contemporary dance production inspired by South African Zulu dance and music, tours internationally. The Toleka founder interviewed the artistic creators behind Inala. The production itself brings the focus back to African indigenous culture and expression, presenting a juxtaposition of worlds where past, present, and future exist within one timeline of futurism.
This is Toleka.
Culture and heritage are not static. They move forward through
Legacy - Motion - Play
Built on legacy, we carry forward the strength and wisdom of those who came before us — inspiring artistic creation with grounding and purpose.
Legacy is our foundation — carried forward through music, beats, performance, and meaning.
Toleka is about connection: cultivating relationships, igniting passion, and creating the space for creativity to thrive for artists, audiences, and clients worldwide.
Our work spans African music, dance, and live performance, from stage to screen. We curate and produce live experiences and bespoke events, from concerts and tours to private and corporate celebrations, building lasting pathways for touring, cultural representation, and the preservation of African heritage, creating unforgettable experiences for audiences worldwide.
Ziyah
Click to see about Ziyah and Radio Shows
is the British-Zimbabwean Founder and Director of Toleka, the sole British African woman leading a UK production company of its kind. The company is dedicated to representing both contemporary and legendary African artists through live concerts, touring, and artist management across the UK and globally, with a distinctive focus on Southern and Central African artistry.
With over 25 years of experience in music and live performance, Ziyah Hamandishe’s work champions African excellence through music, performance, and cultural production, producing unforgettable experiences for audiences while carrying legacy forward across generations.
She is also an artist manager and producer, presenter, curator, writer, spoken-word vocalist, dancer, and choreographer, a multidisciplinary artist trained at the BRIT School, holds a BA (Hons) in Media and Cultural Studies and Sociology, and is a former touring dancer with artists including Magic System, Kanda Bongo Man, and Awilo Longomba.
She exemplifies women’s leadership and advancement across the music sector, creating visibility and promoting what women can achieve in the music industry across levels.
Toleka Events presents a special After Valentine’s Day Rumba and Soukous evening with Congolese music icon Kanda Bongo Man. A founding pioneer of the internationally recognised Kwassa Kwassa rhythm, Kanda Bongo Man performs live with a full band in a rare London appearance at Soul Mama. One night only. Limited tickets on sale now!
Toleka Events presents rumba royalty Nyboma — the golden voice of Congolese rumba — back in London by popular demand to open Toleka’s celebration of Africa’s legendary and emerging musical voices.
Toleka means “Let’s go” in Lingala. It reflects the company’s principle of moving forward together through connection, live music and performance.
Toleka exists between legacy and new creation, working with both legendary and contemporary artists.
With over 25 years of experience, we centre music and performance as living cultural heritage, carried forward through live music, performance, and media.
Toleka champions visibility, representation, and the preservation of African cultural heritage, appreciating that legacy is the blueprint for connecting artists, audiences and generations worldwide.
