Kupanda Capital
Washington DC investment firm whose sole African music holding is a minority strategic stake in Nigerian label Mavin Global, held since 2019.
- Based in
- Washington, D.C., United States
- Founded
- 2012
- Founder
- Bobby J. Pittman; Linda Oramasionwu-Leverette; Queen Chinyere Quinn
- Website
- kupanda.com
Kupanda Capital is a Washington, D.C.-based investment and advisory firm founded in 2012 by Bobby J. Pittman, Linda Oramasionwu-Leverette and Queen Chinyere Quinn, focused on incubating and scaling early-stage companies across Africa. It is not African-headquartered or African-owned; its place in this directory rests on one named, material holding in the music business.
In 2019, Kupanda Holdings, a joint venture between Kupanda Capital and TPG Growth, made a multimillion-dollar investment in Mavin Global, the Lagos label founded by producer Don Jazzy. TPG has since fully exited the position. When Universal Music Group announced a majority investment in Mavin in February 2024, expected to close by the end of Q3 that year, Kupanda Capital stayed on as a minority investor and strategic adviser, with Don Jazzy and COO Tega Oghenejobo continuing to run the label day to day.
Outside music, Kupanda’s portfolio has included the off-grid solar financier Nithio. The firm does not otherwise describe itself as a music investor, and its African music exposure is confined to the Mavin position.
