The archive · Consumer Apps · Strategic decision · 2013–2025
Mdundo's ad-supported music bet: Nairobi service to 39M users and a Nasdaq listing
Mdundo bet free ad-supported music plus telco bundles could beat piracy in Africa; from 5M users at its 2020 Nasdaq listing to 39M monthly actives by 2025.
Mdundo
What the business is
An Africa-focused music streaming and download service: users stream and download African and international music free, funded by advertising, premium subscriptions and telco partnerships (USSD bundles), with artists paid a share of revenue.
Starting capital：DKK 30–40M gross from the September 2020 Nasdaq First North Denmark IPO; DKK 15.5M still in the bank per the 2022/23 annual report.
How it started
Mdundo was founded in Kenya in 2013 by Danish entrepreneur Martin Nielsen to give Africa's mobile-first users legal access to music. At its August 2020 application to list on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Denmark, it had about 5 million monthly active users and 20 million monthly downloads/streams, with Nielsen arguing the potential was 'more than 30 times' that figure.
What happened
The September 2020 listing raised up to DKK 40M and funded expansion beyond Kenya. Telco deals became the growth engine: partnerships with MTN and Airtel Nigeria (a combined 124.5M subscribers) and Vodacom Tanzania added paying subscribers, and the user base roughly doubled to 13.8M by end-2021 (TechCrunch, Feb 2022). By July 2025 the platform had reached 39 million monthly active users and paid out $1M in royalties to over 300,000 artists in the first half of the year alone.
How it ended up
Still running and growing: a public company (Nasdaq First North symbol MDUNDO) targeting $1.2M in 2026 royalty payouts on projected revenue of $1.7M–$2.2M, expanding into Southern Africa and Cameroon.
Background
Mdundo was founded in Kenya in 2013 by Danish entrepreneur Martin Nielsen on a simple observation: in sub-Saharan Africa, most people got music through illegal downloads, because subscriptions were too expensive and payment infrastructure was thin. His answer was a free service — stream and download legal music, monetized by advertising, premium subscriptions and telco bundles.
The company applied to list on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Denmark in August 2020 with about 5 million monthly active users and 20 million monthly downloads, raising up to DKK 40M at a DKK 61.9M pre-money valuation. The listing funded expansion, and telco partnerships became the engine: MTN and Airtel Nigeria and Vodacom Tanzania bundled Mdundo into daily, weekly and monthly data plans, helping the user base roughly double to 13.8 million by end-2021.
By July 2025 Mdundo reported 39 million monthly active users across Africa and had paid out $1 million in royalties to over 300,000 artists in the first half of the year — Kenyan artists alone took $500,000. The company projects up to $1.2 million in 2026 payouts on revenue of $1.7–2.2 million, betting that paying artists a real share keeps them exclusive while free access keeps piracy at bay.
What has to be true
- Free access matches the real competitor in Africa — piracy — instead of fighting it with subscription pricing.
- Telco bundles solve the payment problem: users without cards can pay through daily/weekly USSD data plans.
- Artist payouts of 50% of revenue create supply-side loyalty and differentiate Mdundo from pirated copies.
- Listing early (2020) gave Mdundo public capital and a brand that helped it sign global licensing deals like Universal Music.
What can be applied
When the real competitor is free piracy, price the product at free too: monetize telco distribution and advertisers, and use artist payouts as the moat that keeps supply exclusive.
Aftermath
As of 2026-09-02 Mdundo is live and scaling as a public company on Nasdaq First North Denmark (symbol MDUNDO). It reports 39 million monthly active users, partnerships with Safaricom, Airtel, MTN and Vodacom, licensing deals with African labels including Sol Generation, Chocolate City and Swangz Avenue, and plans to expand into Southern Africa and Cameroon while growing royalty payouts toward $1.2M by 2026.
Sources
- Mdundo eyes more telco partnerships after music streaming revenue growth from Tanzania, Nigeria deals
- Artistes earn Sh64m Mdundo in 6 months
- Mdundo.com A/S has applied for admission to trading on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Denmark
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