Starting a business is hard enough. For example, to open a bookmaker’s office providing online sports betting services, you need to know a lot of details and nuances. But what to do when you want to open a business in another country, another continent? Is it possible? What do you need and is it worth it? Let’s look at the example of the startup Mdundo.
Almost 10 years ago, Martin Nielsen, a Dane, founded the startup Mdundo. In that time, he has managed to attract more than a million users and expand his business. In our article, you’ll find out exactly how, according to Nielsen, the African market differs from the European market.
How Did All That Start?
Danish entrepreneur Martin Nielsen never thought about moving to Africa. In 2012, he flew from London, where he was then living, to Kenya. There he worked for three months at 88mph, a seed investment fund, and launched Mdundo, a downloadable mobile music platform for African artists. Nielsen originally planned to run his company from Europe, but he soon realized that local and regional markets were much more attractive to the entrepreneur and moved.
Within three years, Mdundo, Nielsen’s company, had become one of the continent’s largest music services, with more than a million monthly active users from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Nigeria. More than 25,000 artists from all over Africa – popular and obscure alike – post their music to Mdundo, and they all receive royalties every time someone downloads their tracks.
Nielsen believes that such rapid growth would not be possible in Europe. In his opinion, there are many significant reasons for an entrepreneur to think about entering a small market that fits his business plan.
Why Did He Decide to Move to Africa?
According to Martin Nielsen, the startup market is much freer here, and the problems are much more visible. In Europe, you can’t go a step without hearing how someone is going to create a business to solve problems that sometimes don’t exist at all. Here the problems are real, and practical ways to solve them are really important.
Why Would Other Entrepreneurs Come to Africa?
As Nielsen admits, there are three main reasons why it’s much easier to start a business in Africa than in Europe:
- It’s Much Faster to Find a Market and Create the Right Product for It
In Kenya and other countries in the region, there are a lot of untapped opportunities and quite a little competition. It is quite easy for someone from the outside to identify these opportunities because you are likely to see problems here that have already been solved in your home country.
- Highly Motivated Staff
Personnel is a critical component to the success of any business. You will have to deal with the same problems here as you would anywhere else. You won’t have enough resources for the best specialists, and at the same time, your business won’t survive too long of a training period.
The main difference is that Kenya has many high-caliber young professionals who are eager to work in any business, learn, and grow. These people need to be pointed in the right direction, they need help, but with proper diligence, you can accomplish a lot even with limited resources.
- Interest From Around the World
For many international companies, Africa is still an undiscovered world, but interest in the continent is growing rapidly. You and your company can become a hub of knowledge and expertise.
Nielsen is currently seeking financing for Mdundo’s entry into six other countries: Mozambique, Rwanda, Zambia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Nigeria.
