The African Mental Health Research Initiative (AMARI) is a mental health research capacity building programme launched in 2015 to build an Africa-led network of future leaders in mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) research in Africa. AMARI is implementing its second phase, AMARI-II (2023-2027) with funding support from the second phase of the Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training, and Science in Africa (DELTAS Africa), a programme of the Science for Africa Foundation (SFA) being implemented with support from Wellcome and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). AMARI-II is a consortium of six African universities namely; Addis Ababa University, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, University of Ghana, University of Zambia and University of Zimbabwe. These are supported by two UK universities namely; King’s College London and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. AMARI-II’s overall goal is to build excellence in leadership, training, and science amongst African scholars in MNS research in Africa. AMARI-II aims to shift the centre of gravity in global mental health (GMH) by ensuring that African scientists become leaders in GMH research, training and implementation. A particular focus is on AMARI-II’s collective ability to introduce interventions that reduce the treatment gap for mental health disorders in Africa.