Itana adds Mr Eazi’s Choplife to its digital free trade zone

Itana, the digital free trade zone founded by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, has signed up Choplife, the venture founded by Nigerian musician and entrepreneur Oluwatosin “Mr Eazi” Ajibade.

Founded in 2023, Choplife operates entertainment, media, technology, and gaming franchises across 11 African markets, including Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda and Tanzania. 

The company joins a growing list of businesses that have chosen to incorporate within Itana’s digital free trade zone, which was launched in 2021 to give African digital businesses many of the structural advantages founders have historically sought by incorporating in jurisdictions such as Delaware or the United Kingdom.

For Mr Eazi, the decision was driven by the company’s increasing scale across the continent.

“As much as 99% of what we create is made in Africa, and it’s consumed not just across 54 African countries but globally,” he told Condia. “Scaling meant we needed world-class regulatory standards and stability without moving our corporate anchor offshore to Delaware or London.”

Itana’s infrastructure, including tax incentives, multi-currency banking and easier capital repatriation, made the decision compelling, but ultimately it was the founding team’s experience that sealed the partnership.

“I started as an entrepreneur, fell into music, then took a crash course in building pan-African enterprises, and one thing I’ve learned is the power of being close to seasoned founders,” he said.

Following the move, Choplife plans to deepen its expansion into Francophone Africa while entering Southern African markets. Beyond its technology operations, the company also intends to produce film and media content from within Itana.

For Itana, signing Choplife broadens the definition of the kinds of businesses the digital free trade zone is trying to attract.

While Itana is often associated with software startups and technology companies, CEO Chinyere Inya argues that Africa’s globally scalable businesses increasingly extend beyond traditional tech.

“Creative and digital entertainment businesses face many of the same structural challenges as technology companies,” Inya told Condia. “They are building products and intellectual property for global markets but have historically lacked an African jurisdiction designed around their needs. Bringing companies like Choplife into Itana demonstrates that this model can work beyond software.”

Over 50 companies, including Circular Energy, Reliance Infosystems, Udu Technologies and Yamify, have established operations in Itana, and the company says helping founders understand how special economic zones work has been a major focus.

“While Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are a proven global economic strategy — historically powering Nigeria’s manufacturing and oil sectors — Itana marks Nigeria’s first SEZ designed specifically for service-based and digital businesses. Our biggest focus remains on founder education, helping leaders unlock the unique regulatory and operational advantages SEZs provide,” Inya shared.

Itana operates under the policy framework of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), the federal agency responsible for regulating the country’s special economic zones.

Traditionally, those zones have catered to manufacturers, logistics companies and exporters with physical operations. Itana reimagines that framework for digital and service-based businesses whose primary exports are software, media, intellectual property and online services.

Nigerian startups have historically incorporated abroad to make fundraising, governance and cross-border expansion easier. By offering a recognised regulatory framework within Nigeria, Itana hopes to reduce the need for founders to establish holding companies overseas while still providing many of the institutional advantages global investors expect.

The initiative has attracted backing from institutional investors, including the Africa Finance Corporation, which announced support in 2024 for the development of Itana’s digital economic zone and planned technology campus in Lagos.

Companies seeking to incorporate through Itana must meet strict eligibility requirements, including a minimum share capital of $100,000 and the submission of a feasibility study.

According to Inya, the feasibility assessment is designed not simply as a compliance exercise but to evaluate whether prospective businesses are positioned to build sustainable companies from Africa.

Last updated: August 13, 2026