Zakes Bantwini is looking beyond the next hit record, with a wider ambition to ensure that African companies own more of the business created by the continent’s booming music exports.
The Grammy-winning South African musician and producer has built an international audience through his music, but his attention is increasingly turning to the structures behind the industry. His goal is to help create a sustainable business environment in which African artists and companies benefit from the global demand for the continent’s sound.
For Bantwini, international success should mean more than African music travelling to audiences abroad. It should also create opportunities for African businesses to participate in the infrastructure and commercial activity supporting that success.
From performing to building
The shift in focus has taken Bantwini from South African dance floors to Harvard Business School, where he enrolled in the Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports programme. The move was linked to his plans for Mayonie Productions and his ambition to develop the company’s international position.
His decision to study at Harvard was not presented as a qualification exercise alone. Instead, Bantwini viewed the programme as a strategic step towards understanding how a global entertainment business is built, expanded and managed. He also wanted to form relationships with people who understood international business at a high level.
“For me, I think in probabilities, and I also take decisions and do anything that I do based on probabilities.”
That approach, he explained, shapes the way he evaluates opportunities. Rather than focusing only on immediate artistic rewards, he considers whether a decision can move him closer to his longer-term plans for a global company.
A calculated international move
Bantwini’s reasoning was straightforward: if his ambitions were international, he needed to place himself in an environment where global business was being discussed and developed. He identified the United States as the centre of many major global companies and Harvard as a place associated with influential business leaders.
His Harvard experience therefore formed part of a broader effort to gain a practical roadmap for expanding his work. The programme offered an opportunity to think beyond producing successful artists and releasing music, towards the ownership, relationships and commercial systems that can support a lasting enterprise.
| Focus | Bantwini’s stated direction |
|---|---|
| Music | Continue building on his international audience and successful records |
| Business | Strengthen Mayonie Productions and pursue global growth |
| Ownership | Give African companies a larger stake in the music economy |
Why ownership matters
The central issue in Bantwini’s thinking is the gap between global visibility and commercial control. African music can attract listeners, travel across borders and generate international attention, while much of the business surrounding that success still requires stronger African participation.
His argument places ownership alongside creativity. Producing a successful artist or recording a popular song is only one part of building an industry, he said. For the sector to become more durable, African companies also need to be involved in the organisations and opportunities that support music’s international movement.
- Creative success: African artists are reaching audiences beyond the continent.
- Business development: Bantwini is focused on scaling his company internationally.
- Long-term value: He wants African firms to benefit from the commercial growth linked to African music.
That perspective marks a notable evolution in the career of an artist already recognised for major musical achievements. With a Grammy Award, chart-topping records and an international audience behind him, Bantwini is using his experience to consider what should come next for the wider African music business.
The conversation is ultimately about building an industry that can retain more value on the continent. Bantwini’s ambitions extend beyond personal success: he wants African music’s global journey to be matched by stronger African ownership, better business positioning and sustainable opportunities for the companies supporting its artists.
