Mr Eazi tips Africa to become highest net exporter of technology talent

Nigerian musician and entrepreneur, Oluwatosin Ajibade, popularly known as Mr Eazi, says Africa has the prospects of becoming highest net exporter of technology talent.

Mr Eazi made the assertion in a statement issued by his media team on Friday in Lagos.

The singer, who just returned from Latitude59 Tech Conference in Estonia, spoke on prospects of the African continent in technology.

Eazi said Estonia’s former president, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, also shared how Estonia had been positioning itself to be friendly for tech founders and entrepreneurs through its digital e-residency programme.

“Billed as “the flagship startup and tech event of the world’s first digital society,” Latitude59 brought together over 400 investors and 800 startup reps in the Estonian capital of Tallinn, from May 24 to 26.

“As part of the conference’s speakers, Mr Eazi discussed his tech and creative journey and the prospects of the African orange economy via smart governance in a roundtable with former Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

“You can set up your company digitally in Estonia, and become an e-resident.

“Eazi, who via Zagadat Capital recently invested in Decagon, a company that trains engineers in Nigeria and pairs them with jobs worldwide, sees a major opportunity for African tech talent to gain a foothold in overseas markets such as Estonia.

“You have over 10 million smart, young people getting out of university each year in need of jobs.

“Now, Africa not just Nigeria, but Kenya, Ghana, Benin, Rwanda, etc, our continent has the prospect to become the highest net exporter of technology talent,” he said.

The singer said his last-minute trip to Estonia for the conference was one of his favorites as he was able to speak about his career and journey from founder to musician turned investor, with his VC fund, Zagadat Capital, investing in tech businesses.

“That journey appears to be of great interest as Latitude59 is not the only international business conference to host Mr Eazi recently.

“Earlier in May, he was a speaker at the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, where he shared his views on African music’s role in developing and stimulating the continent’s creative economy.

“Paramount on Eazi’s mind in Estonia was the potential for business alliances in tech,” he said.

Estonia reportedly has the most start-ups per capital of any European nation. It is ranked first in the region for its business environment by the Emerging Europe IT Competitiveness Index.

His VC fund Zagadat Capital has already invested in the mobile payment service, PawaPay, which employs a number of engineers in Estonia.