Nigerian singer, songwriter, music executive and founder of Banku Music record label, Oluwatosin Oluwole Ajibade, popularly known in the entertainment industry as Mr. Eazi, has won the Young Entrepreneur Award at the 2024 African Prosperity Champions Award held at the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel in Accra (Ghana).
The award recognises Mr. Eazi’s drive in setting up businesses on the continent and projecting Africa positively as a destination for foreign investors.
Giving credit to his alma mater, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), where he started his entrepreneurial journey, Mr. Eazi said: “… that journey has taken me from tech to music, and it has been seven years of music, which has led me to represent Africa across the world and speak on Africa’s soft power.
“This is one of the first times that everywhere I go, people refuse to look at me as the entrepreneur that I am and just want to look at me as a musician and expect me to hold the mic and sing.
“Meanwhile, as young Africans, we refuse to be defined by labels. I am a creative entrepreneur, and I thank you so much for giving me this award. It is a reminder of the work we are doing and the work that is to be done, and Africa is the future whether anybody likes it or not.”
Mr Eazi’s independent record label, Banku Music, not only serves as a platform for promoting emerging African artists, but has also contributed to the global popularity of the Afrobeats genre.
He is the brain behind the annual festival, Detty Rave, which showcases a diverse lineup of local and international artists in celebration of the vibrancy of African music and culture, therefore contributing to the ongoing narrative about Africa’s influence on the global music stage, and strengthening community engagement and development.