The South African artist, Zubair Mahomed, fondly known as The Fresh Prince of Zubair, has embarked on a thrilling collaboration with Ozow, a prominent South African fintech firm.
Ozow, which secured $48 million in its Series B round two years ago and currently boasts over 8 million users, partnered with Mahomed to release an exclusive collection of limited-edition premium T-shirts.
The official launch took place in Cape Town on Saturday night, providing an exceptional experience that seamlessly merged art, innovation, and technology.
The occasion, which was held at Wonderland Film Studios, not only celebrated Mahomed's remarkable artistic prowess but also marked the launch of Ozow's new application, Ozow.ME.
Ozow.ME is a user-friendly, secure application designed to facilitate instantaneous payments. It empowers users to perform or receive free peer-to-peer payments in real time, without requiring a traditional bank account.
Besides facilitating payments, the application offers additional services such as buying airtime and data, lotto tickets, and electricity.
The app is readily available for download on multiple platforms, including Google Play Store, Apple App Store and Huawei App Gallery.
This joint creative venture between The Fresh Prince of Zubair and Ozow opened avenues for artistic experimentation with the Ozow logo, resulting in a limited-edition collection that includes T-shirts, trainers, and captivating paintings.
Mahomed, who is renowned for his expertise in customising sneakers, creating digital illustrations, and paintings, found this endeavour perfectly aligned with his creative ambitions.
His unique style and innovative approach piqued the interest of Ozow, leading to this artistic partnership.
Drawing inspiration from everyday life and observations, particularly within the fashion and lifestyle industries, Mahomed aspires to collaborate with top international brands and create pioneering, award-winning artwork.
During a discussion with “Independent Media Lifestyle”, Mahomed, who has in the past worked with brands like Dolce and Gabana as well as world renowned South African DJ Black Coffee, expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to collaborate with the fintech firm.
He acknowledged the intensive effort involved in aligning the brands and exploring untapped markets within South Africa.
Mahomed clarified that he was granted artistic freedom during the project with Ozow.
"The project wasn’t stifling, whereby as an artist your creative spirit is pointed in different directions, I had the freedom to express myself,” he stated.
Thomas Pays, CEO of Ozow, elaborated on the partnership, stating, “Ozow has consistently championed collaboration, whether with conventional financial institutions or remarkable artists like Zubair.
“This partnership aims to highlight his impressive talent while offering our brand's supporters an exclusive and highly limited offering. At Ozow, we're not just making payments possible.
“We're making dreams possible. And we're doing it the Ozow way - uniquely, creatively, and collaboratively.”
Another notable moment of the evening was the unveiling of custom-made artwork specially commissioned for some of Ozow's esteemed merchants and partners, including Capitec and Takealot.
The event took an intriguing twist as several attendees engaged in a bidding frenzy for the artists personal collection that was also on display at the event, with many vying to secure a piece of this impressive collection.
Other noteworthy artworks included Mickey Mouse, representing the roots of animation and the advent of digital design.
This was the favourite piece of an art enthusiast in attendance who said: “I love animation, and this (Mickey Mouse) represents how it began and where the industry I love started.”
∎ The limited-edition premium collection of T-shirts can be purchased exclusively on Ozow’s new e-commerce platform, shop.ozow.com.