Michael Ugwu

Quote- “I know a lot of people don't have the luxury of knowing their roots, but I know my roots and that was super important to me.”

The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.

Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.

This episode features Michael Ugwu, MD of Freeme Digital, an online digital music distribution network in Africa.

Michael is a crypto enthusiast who holds a degree in Economics. In 2019, he liquidated most of his real estate investments and other assets and threw it all into bitcoin. A risk that has paid off over the years.

Micheal was instrumental in helping sony music launch in the west African market. He led several projects from licensing catalogs to MTN, Jidenna tour to Nigeria, signing deals of major artists in Nigeria to Sony.

Listen and enjoy as Micheal talks about his journey running a distribution company in Nigeria and how NFT can revolutionize the music industry.

Michael reading list

Think And Grow Rich By Napoleon Hill
https://www.amazon.com/Think-Grow-Rich-Napoleon-Hill/dp/0785833528

De Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous
https://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Standaard-Decentrale-Alternatief-Bankieren/dp/9916951357

Snow Crash by Neal Stepheson
https://www.amazon.com/Snow-Crash-Neal-Stephenson/dp/0553380958/ref=sr_1_1?

Show Notes
2:09 Micheal’s journey into crypto.

7:40 Journey to freeme digital.

14:30 Challenges of being a founder in the African ecosystem.

16:27 Impact of the covid-19 pandemic on business and operational challenges experienced.

19:24 Michael’s first encounter with failure as an entrepreneur.

23:50 Lessons learnt at Iroking.

28:37 Approach navigating challenges with signed artists.

32:07 How NFT can revolutionize the music industry.

41:36 Michael’s reading list

45:17 What does being Afropolitan mean to you


The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to learn more about Afropolitan?

Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/