Entertainment, media, technology, gaming, and intellectual property company Choplife, founded by Nigerian musician Mr Eazi (Oluwatosin Ajibade), has established its corporate base in Itana, Nigeria’s first digital special economic zone. This strategic move follows a growing trend of companies seeking a more streamlined regulatory environment for cross-border operations.
Choplife joins approximately 50 other businesses that have relocated to Itana since it became operational in September 2023. The zone offers benefits such as multicurrency accounts, access to international markets, and a simplified regulatory framework—all designed to reduce the friction of running cross-border ventures from Nigeria.
“We’re excited to welcome Mr Eazi and the team at Choplife,” said Chinyere Inya, Itana’s CEO. “Their expansion reinforces our vision of making it easier than ever to start and grow a business serving Africa from anywhere in the world.”
Mr Eazi explained that the decision was logical given that Choplife generates most of its content on the continent while reaching a global audience. He highlighted Itana’s focus on creating infrastructure that enables businesses like his to scale seamlessly.
Choplife’s move addresses common challenges for pan-African companies, including fragmented regulatory systems and high costs associated with cross-border payments (averaging 7.4%–8.3% per transaction). Ajibade noted that these inefficiencies can delay growth opportunities when businesses need to navigate different licensing, banking, and foreign exchange rules in multiple countries.
“The ethos is to build an African company…that’s truly African from top to bottom, but is world-class,” Mr Eazi stated. By anchoring itself in Itana, Choplife aims to reduce administrative friction and position itself for continued expansion across the continent.