Africa-focused music streaming service Mdundo is leveraging strategic partnerships with leading telecommunications companies to expand its user base and revenue streams across the continent. The platform recently reported significant growth following deals with MTN and Airtel in Nigeria, as well as Vodacom in Tanzania, which have given the company access to over 140 million potential customers.
“This is a new revenue stream for us,” said Martin Nielsen, Mdundo’s founder. “When we listed the company in September 2020, we projected that this revenue stream would account for 40% of our total revenue within a few years, and this forecast remains unchanged.”
Accessibility and User Growth
Mdundo offers users music access through USSD services bundled into daily, weekly, or monthly subscription plans. Additionally, the service is accessible via its website and mobile app, which has already surpassed 1 million downloads. By the close of 2021, Mdundo’s platform hosted 1.7 million international songs alongside 367,000 tracks uploaded by 122,000 African artists—marking a 46% growth in African music content compared to the previous year.
The company pays over half of its revenue to music creators, aligning with its mission to support artists and combat piracy.
Scaling Across Africa
Founded in 2013 and listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market in September 2020, Mdundo has rapidly grown its user base from fewer than one million in 2016 to 13.8 million by the end of 2021. It aims to exceed 18 million users by mid-2022, driven by its focus on expanding operations beyond its home market of Kenya.
Advertising remains a key revenue stream, accounting for 63% growth in 2021 after Mdundo established sales teams in Nigeria and Tanzania. The company is further targeting growth in Ghana and Uganda and expects to see significant revenue increases following an advertising deal that quadrupled its monthly income from display ads to $34,581.
Financial Performance
Mdundo reported doubling its revenue to $382,900 in the second half of 2021 compared to the same period in the previous year. It projects a 400% increase in total revenue for its next fiscal year, reflecting the success of its expanded sales operations and telco partnerships.
The Competitive Landscape
Mdundo operates in a market populated by over 20 music streaming services, including global giant Spotify and regional players like Boomplay and Songa by Safaricom. Despite this, Nielsen sees piracy as a greater challenge than competition.“We still see the biggest competition to our service as illegal consumption of music across the continent,” Nielsen said. “This is still where the vast majority of people in Africa get their music from, unfortunately. We aim to provide a great alternative to this.
”To address piracy, Mdundo partnered with anti-piracy specialist Audiolock in 2020, actively working to remove infringing links to African music from unlicensed platforms.
A Vision for the Future
As Mdundo continues to expand across Africa, its dual focus on supporting artists and providing accessible, affordable streaming solutions positions it as a major player in the continent’s music streaming industry. Through ongoing partnerships and innovative approaches to revenue generation, the company is well-poised to drive growth while addressing critical challenges in the market.
