Temple Management Taps Universal Music Exec, Hadja Kobele Keita as MD for Francophone Africa

In a new expansion drive to actualize its pan-African goals, foremost creative agency, Temple Management Company (TMC) has appointed international Artiste and Repertoire (A&R) executive, Hadja Kobele Keita, as Managing Director for its Francophone region. Under her new role, Ms. Keita will oversee the aggressive expansion of the pan-African creative powerhouse in French-speaking Africa working with individual talents as well as organizations from the region to actualize the goal of TMC. At a private ceremony in Lagos at the corporate headquarters, Ms. Keita was unveiled by Mr. Idris Olorunnimbe, Group Chief Executive, in company of other members of group senior management of the fast-growing organization. Temple Francophone is expected to coordinate with the main office based in Lagos, but will have a headquarters in Abidjan. The organization also operates an East Africa regional office in Nairobi, Kenya.

According to Mr. Olorunnimbe, the new move has again reaffirmed TMC as a truly global brand. “When we started this journey over a year ago, our intentions were clear – to fill a void as a global creative brand based in Africa. Our target is to be a bridge builder between international investors and African talents across different categories. The launch of Temple Francophone is one of the pieces in the jigsaw puzzle to actualize that,” the TMC head-honcho explained. Until her new appointment, the Howard University trained showbiz personality was Head of Public Relations and Special Projects, Universal Music. She brings in a lot of experience as a seasoned talent scout, versatile promoter with vast international influence in the area of media and public relations. With her Washington based, Coyah Productions, Keita has established herself as one of Africa’s most influential A&R persons working with global brands such as Roc Nation, BET and South By South West (SXSW). She is the curator of ‘Sounds from Africa,’ a rallying point at the yearly SXSW conference for some of the biggest musicians in Africa and the Diaspora. Speaking about her new role, Keita said she was excited and couldn’t wait to start work. “The beauty of my new role with Temple is my ability to define it with the everlasting movement of our Industry,” Ms. Keita said. “The world needs to understand that the African Entertainment Industry isn’t confined into East, West or South Africa, there are important stories in francophone, lusophone and North Africa as well. My goal is to be the curator, through Temple, of those stories.” Mr. Tunde Folawiyo, the Group Chairman, welcomed Ms Keita to the company and echoed her sentiments. “The experience, expertise and knowledge that Hadja brings to Temple further strengthens our Pan-African vision and reinforces our position at the forefront of Sports and Entertainment service providers,” Mr. Folawiyo said. “We will continue to consolidate the leadership of our organization and look forward to the opportunities that her presence will present.”