Born to a Lebanese father and Sierra Leonean mother, Rima Tahini’s formative years were marred by the breakout of the Sierra Leone Civil War. Seeking respite with her family in Guinea, the experience would trigger a lifelong desire to pursue academic excellence. Leveraging the power of education as a catalyst for change, she would proceed to the African Leadership Academy where she would get her first taste of business. Going on to study Business and Economics at college, she would wind up joining venture capital firm, Kupanda Capital. That job would inspire a move to Lagos and her conducting due diligence and sourcing investment for a scrappy music label led by producer, Don Jazzy and Tega Oghenejobo: Mavin Records. The unprecedented investment would help position Mavin as the definitive record label of the Afrobeats movement leading to another unprecedented moment: Universal Music taking a stake in Mavin. Over 51 minutes, she digs deep into her background, navigating identity, the shift from venture capital to helping build Afrobeats’ premier label and the lessons to be gleaned from Mavin’s success.
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