Nairobi — Julius Kyazze, the Ugandan entertainment entrepreneur behind Swangz Avenue and NRG Radio, has launched a multinational creative group targeting brands and content creators across Africa, as the continent’s creative industries seek formal structures to capture growing consumer spending.
Live54+, which begins operations with coordination functions based in Nairobi and supporting offices in Dubai and Mauritius, brings together Kyazze’s existing ventures including Swangz Avenue, Buzz Group Africa, The Quollective and the NRG and Play radio networks. The group plans active operations in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Burundi.
The launch comes as Africa’s creative economy benefits from shifting demographics, the continent has the world’s youngest population and accelerating digital adoption. Industry estimates value Africa’s creative and cultural sectors at US$4.2bn, though most activity remains informal and fragmented along national lines.
“This isn’t just a group of companies, it’s a vision that Africa’s creative economy can be a serious engine for growth, jobs and global relevance,” Kyazze said in a statement. The group is positioning itself to service multinational brands seeking coordinated campaigns across multiple African markets, while providing infrastructure for creators seeking cross-border distribution.
The holding structure reflects a broader trend toward consolidation in African media and entertainment, where family-owned businesses and founder-led agencies have traditionally dominated. Live54+ will operate as an ecosystem of specialised units rather than a merged entity, with subsidiaries retaining operational independence while accessing shared resources and regional coordination.
Nairobi’s selection as the group’s coordination hub signals Kenya’s emergence as a services trade centre, while the Mauritius office provides access to the Indian Ocean island’s investment and legal infrastructure. The Dubai presence offers connectivity to Middle Eastern capital and media networks.
The model faces established competition. MultiChoice Group dominates pay-television across sub-Saharan Africa, while pan-African agencies such as Publicis Groupe’s Africa operations and Omnicom’s networks already service continental brand campaigns. However, Live54+ argues its locally-rooted structure, with founders still operating individual businesses, offers deeper market access.
“The group’s approach focuses on integration, collaboration and scale, empowering businesses to grow within their local markets while benefiting from shared resources,” according to launch documents.
For investors tracking Africa’s consumer sectors, creative industries present measurement challenges. Advertising spending remains concentrated in a handful of markets, while intellectual property monetization, from music catalogs to event franchises, lacks the institutional frameworks common in mature economies. Live54+ effectively vertically integrates across talent management, content production, radio distribution and experiential marketing, creating multiple revenue touchpoints.
The launch coincides with African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) implementation, which includes protocols on services trade and intellectual property rights. Cross-border creative collaboration has historically been hampered by differing regulatory regimes, payment barriers and fragmented distribution. A coordinated group structure may mitigate some friction.
Kyazze brings two decades of operating experience in Uganda’s entertainment industry, where Swangz Avenue developed as a music label and events business before expanding into broader brand services. The radio assets, NRG in Uganda and Play in Kenya, provide daily content distribution and youth audience access.
The group’s next phase will test whether founder-led creative businesses can institutionalize without losing the agility that made them successful; a challenge that has tripped up African expansion efforts across sectors. If Live54+ demonstrates effective cross-border coordination, it could provide a template for creative economy formalization that investors and policymakers have sought as the continent’s demographic dividend approaches its peak.
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