Mr Eazi: singer, investor, owner

Move 01Start with the hustle

Before the music, he moved to Ghana to study mechanical engineering at KNUST and ran a campus party promotion business on the side, booking artists for student events.

Move 02Build your own investment arm

He set up his own investment firm, Zagadat Capital. It backed payments company pawaPay, where he now sits on the board, along with startups like Eden Life and Ruka Hair.

Move 03Go from ambassador to owner

In 2017 he signed on as betPawa’s brand ambassador, then bought into its parent company. Through Choplife Gaming he runs operations in markets including Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, and in 2024 launched his own platform in Côte d’Ivoire.

Move 04Invest in the next generation

In 2018 his emPawa100 programme handpicked 100 emerging African artists and funded each one’s music video with $3,000. Joeboy was one of the artists it helped launch.

Move 05Own the stage

At Detty Rave 7, his year-end concert in Accra, he pledged $2 million to build new indoor and outdoor event venues in the city and called on Ghana’s tourism authority to back it.

Move 06Put money where it matters

In May, Zagadat disclosed a 17.31% stake in Intravenous Infusions, a listed Ghanaian maker of IV fluids and injectables. The firm called it a long-term bet on Ghana’s healthcare and drug manufacturing.

Move 07The next move: the stock exchange

He says he’s at the beginning of the process of listing a technology company on the Nigerian Exchange, pointing to Dangote, Abdul Samad Rabiu and his father-in-law Femi Otedola as the example.