Photo credit: Music in Africa
African music streaming newcomer Mdundo expects MAU growth of 35% in the next fiscal year, according to the company’s recently released growth report.
In a recent report, African music streaming service Mdundo reports announced that the company continued to make progress on its growth trajectory with a focus on key markets, strategic partnerships and value-driven initiatives.
Mdundo expects significant growth in monthly active users (MAU) with a target increase to 35 million from 26 million in the previous fiscal year – a growth of 35%. This number reflects an impressive sevenfold increase in MAU since its IPO in 2020 and underscores the platform’s consistently increasing reach Africa.
The company expects annual earnings to increase significantly and is forecasting a range of $2.4 million to $3 million. This translates to a compound growth rate of 31% compared to the revenue expectation for this fiscal year of $1.9 million to $2.3 million. The forecast reflects an 11- to 13-fold increase in annual sales since the IPO.
Mdundo continues to hope to improve earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) with an expected 10% improvement reflecting the company’s commitment to financial progress and minimizing cash burn. The company adds that it remains firmly on track to achieve its ambitious strategy by 2025 of reaching 50 million monthly active users and generating positive EBITDA.
To that end, the company will focus on three key areas that underpin its strategic approach to drive growth, create value and revolutionize the music landscape across Africa.
Mdundo said attention remains focused on Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and South Africa – key markets with a combined population of 422 million people, about 35% of sub-Saharan Africa’s population. This offers significant growth opportunities due to the high Internet penetration rates and the robust economic development. As of March, these markets accounted for 16.6 million of Mdundo’s 24.5 million MAU numbers, with the remaining 30% spread across secondary focus markets.
Mdundo also strives to increase value per user across telecom and premium products through partnerships with leading providers including Vodacom in Tanzania, Airtel in Nigeria and MTN in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. Reaching a combined customer base of 185 million people, these partnerships will enable Mdundo to address the low adoption rate of payment cards in Africa while delivering value to its users.
The company previously announced that these partnerships accounted for 33% of total revenue in the first half of 2022-23, a sixfold increase in revenue from the same period last year.
Finally, Mdundo would seek to provide locally relevant services and content while recognizing the importance of cultural diversity and local preferences. The company previously stated that around 80% of all music consumed in the focus markets came from its African catalog and that the service includes almost 500,000 African songs uploaded directly to Mdundo by more than 140,000 artists.