It feels like just yesterday, but it was back in May 2024 that I sat down with Martin Nielsen, the co-founder and CEO of Mdundo, for an episode on my ‘Pure Digital Passion’ podcast. At the SemaBox Studio at Baraza Media Lab, we delved into his journey and the unique, Africa-first strategy that was propelling Mdundo’s growth. 

I also recall attending a Mdundo social mixer the same month where the scale of their ambition was clear: they had already reached 34 million monthly active users (MAUs) across Africa, with 4 million in Kenya alone, and were paying out around US$ 1.5 million in royalties annually. 

I remember being struck by Martin’s philosophy of being “frugal and gradual,” focusing on bootstrapping and sustainable growth rather than the typical cash-burning blitzscaling we often see with technology startups in Kenya, Africa, and globally. He spoke with clarity about a vision to build a music service for the millions of African consumers underserved by global platforms.

Earlier today, I received an update from Mdundo that between January and July 2025, they had paid out a US$ 1 million in royalties to over 300,000 artists across the African continent. This demonstrates the impact of building for the African market requires not just capital, but a deep, nuanced understanding of its people, its infrastructure, and its culture.

Deconstructing The Million-Dollar Payout: A Win for Africa’s Music Economy

The headline figure of US$ 1 million is impressive, but the real story lies in its distribution. This sum was shared among more than 300,000 music artists, a detail that fundamentally changes its significance. This isn’t a case of a few superstars earning the lion’s share. Instead, it points to the creation of a broad-based economic ecosystem. For countless emerging and mid-tier artists in countries like Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana, South Africa, and even new growth markets like Cameroon and Malawi, this represents a formal, reliable digital income stream.

This formalization of earnings allows African musicians to treat their art as a sustainable business, helping them build financial records and professionalize their craft. The engine behind these payouts is Mdundo’s impressive and continued user growth. I’ve been tracking their progress for years, from when they hit 20.3 million monthly active users (MAUs) back in June 2022 to the 34 million I noted last year. As of July 2025, that number has climbed to over 39 million, demonstrating a growing demand for their service. This payout is part of an ongoing, bi-annual commitment that has already benefited over 200,000 rights holders since Mdundo’s inception, with the number of beneficiaries growing with each cycle.

The Power of Partnership: Why The Safaricom Collaboration Is Mdundo’s Growth Driver In Kenya

So, how has Mdundo managed to effectively unlock monetization in a market where traditional credit card-based subscriptions have struggled? The answer, as we discussed in our podcast, lies in deep, strategic partnerships, and there is no better example than their collaboration with Safaricom in Kenya.

This partnership is demonstrates the importance of localization when it comes to launching and scaling digital propositions for the mass market. Mdundo has effectively integrated its service into the very fabric of Kenya’s digital economy by leveraging Safaricom’s extensive mobile network and M-Pesa, its ubiquitous mobile money ecosystem. 

This allows users to subscribe using airtime, a payment method they already use daily, making the service accessible to millions. As Sowari Akosionu, Mdundo’s Chief Marketing Officer, states, “Our partnership with Safaricom has been instrumental in enabling royalty payouts in Kenya. By opening up wider access to music through their extensive network, Safaricom is directly supporting local artists’ earnings”.

I wrote about their unique business model back in 2022, and the core principles still hold true and explain why these partnerships are so effective. Mdundo allows users to download music for free after listening to a short audio ad. This is crucial in a market where data costs can be a barrier. The platform is versatile, offering both streaming and downloads of small, compressed MP3 files. Crucially, you don’t even need a smartphone app; the service works perfectly on basic feature phones via a web browser, which dramatically expands its addressable market. These are the important nuances that make Mdundo ideal for the Kenyan and African consumer.

This model effectively turns Africa’s telcos into a platform for customer acquisition, billing, and distribution, all at once. It’s a strategy that solves the core challenges of access and payment in one elegant move, creating a significant competitive advantage that would be incredibly difficult for global players to replicate. This “Telco-as-a-Platform” approach extends across Africa, with similar key partnerships with MTN, Airtel, Glo, and Vodacom. The Mdundo ecosystem is further strengthened by payment facilitators like Cellulant, which ensures seamless and timely cross-border disbursements to artists, and by the trust of major brands like Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL), NCBA Bank, and Samsung, who use the platform for advertising.

Hyperlocal African Music: Winning Hearts by Championing Local Sounds

Technology and partnerships are only part of the equation. The other critical component of Mdundo’s success is its content strategy, which is built on “hyperlocal african music.” A key takeaway for me from the mixer last year was that a staggering 95% of Mdundo’s music catalogue is African music. This intense focus on the sounds that resonate most with local audiences is their secret weapon.

In Kenya, this means actively promoting not just mainstream Afropop but also vernacular genres like Gengetone, Arbantone, Luo Ohangla, Mugithi, and music from the Kalenjin and Kamba communities. This approach does more than just cater to existing tastes; it validates and amplifies these unique cultural expressions. It ensures that when a user in Kisumu or Nyeri uses Mdundo, they find music that speaks their language and reflects their identity. This deep connection builds immense loyalty and boosts visibility for regional artists, creating new and vital income streams.

Mdundo has also professionalized its relationship with the industry by securing licensing deals with leading African music giants such as Sol Generation, EmPawa Africa, Chocolate City, and Swangz Avenue. This blend of grassroots content and established labels makes Mdundo a comprehensive and indispensable platform focussed on the African music market. In a way, Mdundo is acting as both a taste-maker and a cultural archivist. By creating a commercial incentive for the production of hyperlocal music, it ensures that as Kenya’s and Africa’s music consumption goes digital-first, the continent’s rich musical diversity is not just preserved but actively celebrated and sustained for future generations.

My Take: The Road Ahead For Mdundo & The African Music Industry

As I think about Mdundo’s journey from a bootstrapped startup to a Nasdaq-listed company paying out millions in royalties today I am genuinely inspired. Indeed, Mdundo is not resting on its laurels and has ambitious targets to distribute up to US$ 1.2 million in royalties by 2026, backed by revenue projections of between US$ 1.7 million and US$ 2.2 million.

Their strategy for achieving this growth includes expanding subscription services and strengthening those crucial telco partnerships. Interestingly, they also plan on leveraging their Progressive Web App (PWA) to reach global audiences. The PWA is a particularly savvy move, allowing them to bypass app store constraints and reach users on a wider range of devices — a critical advantage in Africa’s diverse mobile device landscape. 

I also remember from my podcast session with Martin that Mdundo had a goal to reach 50 million MAUs by June 2025. Given that they are now at 39 million, still showing incredible growth, it will be interesting to see how they close that gap. The key challenge ahead will be to balance this global ambition with the hyperlocal focus that has been the bedrock of their success. How do you scale internationally without diluting the unique, localized soul of the platform?

Ultimately, Mdundo’s story offers a powerful lesson for any entrepreneur building for Kenya and Africa. It proves that lasting success comes not from importing foreign business models, but from developing local solutions to local problems. Martin and his team are not just building a music app; they are building a sustainable economic framework for African creativity in music. What are your thoughts on Mdundo’s business model and its impact on the African music scene? Please share your insights in the comments below.