In the last couple of months, Universal Music has made moves to set up shop in Africa. They’ve got a pronounced presence in South Africa via Nasty C and have become increasingly visible in the Nigerian market. Whilst those territories give the impression of a strategy with an Anglophone tinge, it’s become clear that the Francophone world is also being sought.
Universal have recently opened a new office in Abidjan, the Ivorien capital in a bid to boost the label across the French speaking parts of the continent. The office will be headed by Moussa Soumbounou, an experienced head in the space. He’ll in turn report to Universal Music France chief Olivier Nusse. Soumbounou’s Western Africa operation will cover countries like Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles and Togo.
In a statement, Nusse said
“I am delighted to announce the expansion of our strategic operations across Africa under the leadership of Moussa Soumbounou and his team, which will not only help us to discover and release new talent throughout Africa and other French-speaking markets around the world, but will also increase the creative, commercial, digital and live opportunities available for these artists locally, in France and now globally”.
Read more at Billboard.