2020-04-01 Forbes Africa

32 | FORBES AFRICA APRIL 2020 FORBESAFRICA.COM

It is mydreamto expandmy

companyto becomea global

conglomeratein AfricasoI can

create employment for the youth.

MREAZI,28,NIGERIA

MUSICIANANDFOUNDER,EMPAWA AFRICA

INDUSTRY:ENTERTAINMENT

BorninPortHarcourt,Nigeria,andraisedinLagos,Oluwatosin

Ajibadewouldsitatthebreakfasttablewithhisdad,listeningto

oldrecordshisfatherusedtoplay.

ThiswasthekeymomentthatinspiredAjibadetobecome

‘MrEazi’,oneofAfrica’snotablemusicstars.

HebeganhismusiccareerwhileattendingcollegeinGhana,

wherehissidehustlesincludedpromotingconcertsandrunning

a conciergeserviceshuttlingwealthykidstoparties.

“Ibeganmycareerwitha smallcashgiftfromfriends,which

enabledmetopayformyfirstprofessional-qualityvideofor

Skintight,” hetellsFORBESAFRICA.

ThislaterledhimtoproducingmoreAfricanfavoritesin

2017 suchasLegOverandPourMeWater, both sitting at over 74

millionviewsonYouTube.

Butthemusicdidnotstopthere.

Hissuccesshasalsoseenhimperformingonglobalstages

intheUKandtheUSincludingbeingoneofonlytwoAfrican

artiststoplaytheworld’smostprestigiousmusicfestival,

Coachellain2019.

MrEazi’sascenttoglobalstardomhasseenhimclockover

280 millionYouTubeviewsandmorethan4.1millionSpotify

streamspermonth,makinghimoneofthemoststreamed

Africanartistsworldwide.

Butnow,MrEaziis establishinghimselfasanentrepreneur

aswell.

AfterfoundingemPawain2018,hehasbeenona global

campaigntomentorandfundAfricanartists.

Theentityhasprovidedmarketingandbusinesssupportfor

establishedactslikeNigeria’sSimiandGhana’sKingPromise.

emPawaalsohada notablehandinBeyonce’sGrammy-

nominatedTheLionKing:TheGiftalbum,helpingthepop

megastar’sUS-basedteamassembleleadingAfricantalentfor

thislandmarkproject.

“It’ssomethingI wishsomeonehadcreatedwhenI first

startedmakingmusic.Sometimes, all it takes is that one person

to believe in you,” he says.

WISDOMMAWULI, 26, GHANA

FOUNDER,MAJORAGROUP

INDUSTRY:DIVERSIFIEDHOLDINGS

Murphy'sLawstatesthat‘anythingthatcangowrongwillgowrong’,

andWisdomMawulilearnedthatveryearlyinlife.

“IlostoverGHC3,000($541)whenI hadwantedtotraveltothe

USin 2014 andconsulteda travelandtourcompanyoncampus.My

visawassadlyturneddownbutit spurredmetoconducta detailed

researchinthetravelingandticketingindustry,hencethebirthof

MajoraGroup,”hetellsFORBESAFRICA.

MajoraGroupbeganina miningcommunityandtowncalled

ObuasiinGhanain 2017 withsubsidiariesintravel,education,

consultancy,photographyandprinting.

ItcameaboutwithMawuliwhowantedtotraveltotheUSbut

encounteredanunfavorableexperience.

Afterthebusinessstarted,Mawuliagainlosta sumofGHC12,000

($2,162)toa fakeGhanaianrecruitmentagentinDubai,leadingthe

businesstofurthersetbacks.

“Thismajorsetbackledmybusinesstohugedebtwhichnearly

collapsedaftera fewmonthsofcommencement.Lastly,theObuasi

officecaughtfireinJune 2018 whichmademechangetheentire

wiringsystemoftheofficebuilding,henceincurringhugefinancial

losses,”hesays.

Ittooka whilebutMawuliwasabletogetthebusinessbackon

track.

Theyhavesoldover1,000trips,servicedmorethan 800 clients

andsecuredfiveacademicaccreditationsfromuniversitiesinEurope

andCanadaasrecruitmentpartners.

Thecompanyhasgrown57%inrevenuelastyear,hesays,and

nowhastwobranchesinObuasiandAccraandconsistsofa staffof

nine.

“Asanentrepreneurexposedtothehighunemploymentratein

Ghana,it ismydreamtoexpandmycompanytobecomea global

conglomerateinAfricasoI cancreateemploymentfortheyouth

inmycountrywithinthecompany’scapacity.I believetheyouth

holdthefuturetosustainabledevelopmentandI thereforeseekto

contributetoit throughentrepreneurshipandjobcreation.”

PassionateaboutdevelopingGhana,Mawuliserves as the

executive director for Vision Aid Foundation.

Sometimes,allit takesis that one

person to believe in you.