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Music streamer Mdundo sales drop 25pc despite push into mobile payments
Martin Moeller Nielsen, CEO and Co-founder of Mdundo gives a Press brief on the company’s financial performance and outlook at Pine Tree Plaza in Nairobi on June 27, 2023.
Kenya-headquartered music streaming firm Mdundo recorded a 25.5 percent drop in revenue in the six months to December 2025, despite expanded mobile money and telecom billing partnerships in recent years aimed at stabilising subscription income.
Mdundo’s revenue in the first half of its 2025/26 financial year declined to 4.4 million Danish Krone (Sh89.6 million), from 5.8 million DKK (Sh118.2 million) a year earlier.
“The decline was primarily driven by a sharp reduction in advertising revenue and lower direct sales activity,” the African-focused streaming firm said.
Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania are Mdundo’s largest markets, and the firm has been partnering with telecom operators like Safaricom and MTN, allowing users to pay for premium content via mobile platforms such as M-Pesa, rather than bank cards.
In the six months to December 2025, Mdundo recorded 9.9 million subscription payments from about 906,000 unique customers. However, the company said progress in improving billing stability with telcos has been slower than anticipated.
“The progress in improving billing stability with existing telecom partners has been slower than anticipated, and as telco billing continues to account for the majority of subscription revenue, this has constrained near-term growth,” the music streamer said.
“Alternative payment methods, including mobile money and wallets, have been launched during the period; however, their financial impact remains limited at this stage,” it added.
While subscription revenue remained the company’s largest contributor, it declined 15.6 percent year-on-year to 3.8 million DKK (Sh77.42 million) from 4.5 million DKK (Sh91.7 million). Mdundo attributed the drop to billing instability and lower average revenue per user (ARPU) from some telecom partners.
Advertising revenue dropped 57.1 percent year-on-year to 600, 000 DKK (Sh12.2 million) from 1.4 million DKK (Sh28.5 million). Mdundo’s ad revenue has been on a downward trend in recent years, having stood at 3.1 million DKK (Sh63.2 million) in the half-year to December 2023.
Still, Mdundo narrowed its losses. It reported negative earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation of 1.1 million DKK (Sh22.4 million) in the half year to December, down from 2.1 million DKK (Sh42.7 million) a year earlier. The company said it cut marketing spend, reduced promotional activity and streamlined its organisational structure.
Mdundo is listed in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has operated in Kenya since 2013, focusing exclusively on 15 sub-Saharan African markets. Its music service is designed for low-end smartphones and unstable internet connections and is accessed via its website and Android app. The platform says it has more than 30 million active users.
The company initially sold music through scratch card vouchers before transitioning to an advertising-funded model and later introducing subscriptions around 2020.
It currently offers premium subscriptions at $1.99 (about Sh257) per month. It also has a service that allows Kenyan users to access exclusive DJ mixes at Sh5 per day.
“When it comes to payments across Africa, our key focus is bundling with telcos, because telcos are the ones who have the reach and access to people’s pockets,” Mdundo chief executive Martin Nielsen previously told Reuters.
Rivals like the Nigeria-based Boomplay and Sweden’s Spotify have also invested heavily in deals with African telcos.
