PawaPay, the African payments company co-founded by Nigerian Afrobeats star and entrepreneur Oluwatosin “Mr Eazi” Ajibade, is approaching 4 billion mobile money transactions, underscoring the scale of its payments infrastructure across the continent.

Founded in 2020, PawaPay provides mobile money infrastructure that allows global businesses to collect and send payments across multiple African markets through a single application programming interface, or API. The company says it processes more than 5 million transactions a day across more than 20 countries.

The latest milestone comes just months after PawaPay said it had passed 3 billion transactions. The rapid increase reflects the growing volume of payments moving through its network as businesses use mobile money to collect payments from customers, pay suppliers and settle accounts across different markets.

From 1 billion to 3 billion

In a blog post published June 18, PawaPay described how quickly its transaction volumes have grown. The company said its first billion mobile money transactions took four years, while the second billion took 12 months and the third took just nine months.

“Behind those transactions are businesses collecting school fees, delivering remittances, processing transport payments, paying out humanitarian support and running everyday retail and e-commerce across the continent,” PawaPay said.

The company said mobile money has become part of everyday economic activity across Africa, with its infrastructure supporting businesses across different sectors and markets. PawaPay operates in 20 African markets and says it processes 5 million transactions a day. It has also reported €10 billion ($11.5 billion) in payments settled and a net promoter score of 91.3.

Mr Eazi’s wider business interests

PawaPay is one part of a broader group of businesses associated with Mr Eazi, whose interests extend beyond music into fintech, venture capital, gaming and sports infrastructure. His business interests include emPawa Africa, Zagadat Capital and Choplife Gaming, with operations and investments spanning several African markets.

In May, Choplife Gaming secured regulatory approval to launch its betPawa platform in Mali. The approval from PMU Mali, the country’s state gaming regulator, opened the way for the company to offer sports betting, online casino and instant gaming products in the West African market.

The Mali platform is expected to use mobile money systems for deposits and withdrawals, linking the gaming business to the same mobile-first payments infrastructure that has helped drive digital commerce across the region.

Zagadat Capital expands into healthcare

Mr Eazi’s investment activities have also extended into healthcare. In September, Zagadat Capital GH Ltd, the investment firm he founded in 2017 and where he serves as chief investment officer, acquired a 17.31 percent stake in Intravenous Infusions Plc, a Ghanaian pharmaceutical manufacturer.

The purchase involved 47,514,775 shares traded on the Ghana Alternative Exchange. The investment was tied to what Mr Eazi said he saw in hospitals during the three years his mother was ill. The acquisition places the Nigerian entrepreneur on the share register of a company that manufactures intravenous fluids for hospitals across West Africa.

For PawaPay, the approach toward 4 billion transactions marks another significant point in the company’s growth since its launch in 2020. For Mr Eazi, it adds to a business portfolio that now spans payments, investment, gaming and music-related ventures across Africa.