Afrobeats singer and businessman, Mr Eazi, has opened up about the challenges he faced trying to perform across African countries at the start of his music career, saying it was surprisingly easier to tour Europe and the United States than to tour Africa.

He shared this while speaking at the 2026 Africa Prosperity Dialogue, where discussions focused on how Africa can strengthen trade and opportunities for young people and small businesses.

Looking back on his journey, Mr Eazi said his early success did not make movement across Africa easier. Instead, it exposed the many obstacles created by borders, policies and regulations.

“When my music started getting popular, I could tour America and Europe without much stress. But moving around Africa to perform became even more difficult,” he explained.

One experience that stayed with him happened in Kenya. According to the singer, he had already been booked and paid for a show, yet he was stopped at the border.

“My band members were allowed in, but I was held back, even though I was the main performer,” he said.

To him, that moment showed how systems meant to support African unity were still failing in practice.
He said these barriers go beyond music and affect businesses too, making it harder for African companies and creatives to grow outside their home countries.

“Borders slow down movement, payments and business expansion. That is the real struggle for young entrepreneurs,” he said.

Mr Eazi has spent the last decade building both a music career and several businesses across Africa. He currently invests in companies operating in nearly 20 African countries, including one firm that handles millions of transactions every day. Despite this progress, he believes Africa is still far from being truly connected.

He noted that young Africans already work together across countries through the internet, music and business, even when governments make movement difficult.

“Young people don’t think in borders anymore. We already collaborate online and across countries every day,” he said.
While African leaders have created systems like the African Continental Free Trade Area to encourage unity and trade, Mr Eazi believes the problem is not policy but action.

“We are not saying countries should disappear. We are saying people should be able to move, trade and create more easily and legally,” he explained.

He ended his message with a call for African nations to remove the roadblocks holding the continent back.

“When Africa works as one, we grow faster. A connected Africa is a stronger Africa,” he said.