Nkosinathi Black Coffee Maphumulo is best known for sold-out sets in Ibiza, Vegas and London. But in South Africas business pages, hes now turning up for a different reason: deals. Most recently, he quietly bought The Pentagon on Nettleton Road in Clifton widely described as Cape Towns most expensive home through a company called Little Ark Holdings, in a transaction reported at about R157 million. Its the kind of blue-chip coastal real estate usually associated with mining magnates and old money, not DJs. The mansion is just the most visible piece of a wider portfolio: a 360-degree music business, a dedicated investment vehicle, a stake in historic label Gallo, and early positions in African fintech, edtech, energy and hospitality , plus a growing footprint in real estate. Below are 15 key businesses and investments in Black Coffees expanding empire. 1. Soulistic Agency
Founded in 2005, Soulistic Agency is the engine room of Black Coffees career: his label, management and 360 music company in one.It handles releases, touring, licensing and brand partnerships for him and a small roster of artists, giving him control over masters, margins and strategy rather than leaving those decisions to a major label. 2. FlightMode Digital FlightMode Digital is his investment holding and venture capital arm, set up to put touring income to work in startups and strategic assets.Through FlightMode, Black Coffee has taken stakes in a cluster of African and global growth companies from payments and home services to coding schools and clean energy. 3. Gallo Music Investments Gallo Record Company stake In 2020, FlightMode Digital acquired a significant minority stake in Gallo Music Investments, South Africas oldest and best-known label, from Lebashe Investment Group.Subsequent reporting has pegged his holding at around 20, giving him exposure to one of Africas most valuable music catalogues just as global investors are repricing IP. 4. Zone 6 Venue, Soweto Black Coffee is also an owner of Zone 6 Venue, a 3,000-plus-capacity club and events space in Soweto that regularly hosts major concerts and branded events.Its a hard-asset business property plus liquor and ticket sales and a cultural landmark in the township where he cut his teeth. 5. GongBox Developed under Soulistic, GongBox is a still-emerging streaming and content platform built around African artists and audiences.The idea: mix music, curation and community in a way that fits local consumption patterns rather than copying Western subscription models, and keep ownership on the artist side. 6. Little Ark Holdings and The Pentagon, Clifton The purchase of The Pentagon a five-level glass villa on Nettleton Road in Clifton runs through Little Ark Holdings, where Black Coffee is listed as sole director. Beyond lifestyle, the roughly R157-million acquisition is a statement real-estate play in one of South Africas most expensive postcodes. 7. Yoco Through FlightMode, Black Coffee holds equity in Yoco, a South African fintech company that provides card machines and payment tools to SMEs. 8. SweepSouth He is an investor in SweepSouth, the on-demand home-cleaning and home-services platform operating across South Africa and beyond.SweepSouth sits at the intersection of tech, logistics and domestic work and gives Black Coffee a front-row seat to Africas gig-economy evolution. 9. Andela Black Coffee backed Andela, the engineering-talent company that trains and places African software developers into global teams, early in its growth.Andela has since become one of Africas best-known tech stories, giving his portfolio a direct link into the remote-work and SaaS ecosystem. 10. Rensource Energy FlightMode is also an investor in Rensource, the Nigerian distributed-energy company focused on solar and mini-grid solutions.For an artist who has spent years touring a continent plagued by power cuts, backing a cleaner, more reliable energy platform is both strategic and personal. 11. HyperionDev In 2020, Black Coffee invested in HyperionDev, a South African coding-bootcamp business backed by global tech names.HyperionDev trains software developers and data scientists, and his involvement has included both capital and public support, linking his brand to skills development. 12. Rocean Outside Africa, he joined a group of celebrity investors backing Rocean, a US company that makes smart water and seltzer systems aimed at reducing single-use plastic.Its a small, sustainability-focused bet that broadens his portfolio beyond the continent. 13. GOSPL, SoHo Several business and lifestyle outlets list Black Coffee as an equity partner in GOSPL, a restaurant-and-performance venue in New Yorks SoHo district that caters to a global creative crowd.For a DJ who spends much of his year in clubs, owning a stake in a high-end venue is a natural extension. 14. Epione Healthcare Solutions Black Coffee is widely reported to hold a stake in Epione Healthcare Solutions, a platform that develops and
