Mavin Records attracts multimillion-dollar investment from Kupanda Holdings

The Don Jazzy led Mavin Records secured a multi-million dollar equity investment global strategic partnership deal with Kupanda Holdings, an investment and advisory firm, which is aimed at creating better opportunities for African music.

According to Mavin Global President and Founder, Michael Collins Ajereh a.k.a Don Jazzy, the investment will enable the company to strengthen its advantage as it develops brand partnerships that support its artistes’ values and stories.

“Our mission is to grow Mavin Global into the music powerhouse of Africa. By collaborating with artistes, African creatives, local and international partners, we can become a globally recognized household name and the go-to platform for connecting African music with the world,” he said.

The Chief Operating Officer of Mavin Global, Tega Oghenejobo, explained, “with the resources and operational capacity Kupanda Capital brings along with its investment, Mavin is now ready to grow our artiste roster and facilitate partnerships at a global scale. We are looking to build an institution that will support the fantastic creative ecosystem in Africa, and move Afrobeats to the forefront of the global industry.”

According to Oghenejobo, the record label’s focus is on scaling operations to meet the rapidly growing international demand for African music, growing its roster and on strengthening its services across A&R, touring, marketing, distribution, publishing and partnerships.

Speaking on the deal, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Kupanda Capital, Bobby Pittman, noted that Nigeria as the most populous country in Africa with a population of 180 million, its music industry is projected to grow rapidly with increasing smartphone penetration and the popularity of Youtube, Twitter, Instagram and, increasingly, digital streaming platforms.

“Between Don Jazzy’s leadership in defining the sound of modern Afrobeats and developing top African artists, Mavin Global has a unique advantage and opportunity to build the record label that will accelerate the promotion of African popular music to the world. We are impressed by the Mavin team’s experience and are pleased to partner with them in their next phase of growth,” he said.

For Linda Oramasionwu-Leverette, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Kupanda Capital, “This partnership is an excellent opportunity for us at Kupanda Capital to deploy our business building capabilities alongside our data-driven knowledge of the African consumer to scale Mavin’s operations across Africa, and globally.”

Mavin Record is home to top African artiste including Tiwa Savage, Korede Bello, Johnny Drille, Di’ja, D’Prince, Dr. SID, Ladipoe, DJ Big N and DNA. Since its inception in 2012, the label has been an industry leader in leveraging digital platforms like Youtube, Twitter and Instagram, both to reach local audiences and grow significant fanbases among the African diaspora in the US, Europe and UK.

Meanwhile a recent publicly available data from industry trade body, International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide, the global recorded music market grew by 8.1 percent in 2017, reaching $17.3 billion that year on the strength of digital streaming revenue.

That growth is expected to have continued in 2018, presenting an excellent environment for Mavin to market its music globally.