Mr Eazi Invests Into Afrobeats And Startups To Fuel Africa’s Growth

The artist-entrepreneur-investor Mr Eazi has no on-off switch. Who he is in the recording studio, on stage, and on the boardroom are the same. With business and music, Mr Eazi has found parallel industries that allow him to be the same person.

He’s founded both emPawa Africa and Zagadat Capital to feed his business appetite. The former invests into African artists and helps them scale. Meanwhile, Zagadat Capital invests into tech startups, most of which are inside the continent.

Then there’s Mr Eazi, the Afrobeats artist. He’s collaborated with the likes of Beyonce and J Balvin, and also taken center stage at Coachella. After taking time away from music amid the pandemic, Mr Eazi is back in album mode now. Holed up in Cape Town currently, Mr Eazi has plans for two new albums this year.

I caught up with Mr Eazi to cover his never-ending pursuits in music and business. Here’s everything we chatted about:

0:41 How Mr Eazi is balancing artistry and entrepreneurship
2:20 Similarities between music and startups
6:23 Taking equity stakes in artists and what an “exit” looks like
10:14 How Eazi measures success for emPawa artists
12:07 Eazi’s investment thesis for startups
16:40 Startup success trends in Africa
19:33 Lack of capital is biggest challenge to Africa’s startup scene
26:53 Raising awareness within the continent
29:09 Biggest obstacle that African artists face
32:58 Uncleared sample on a Bad Bunny song
36:38 Impact of Western companies investing into Africa
42:40 Mr Eazi is in album mode