When Omobosola Karimat Alaka began her career as an artist, she kept hearing the same dismissive line, “Your sound is too slow.”

No one paid attention until she caught a break after COVID. She had an investor, pushed hard, and appeared on TV. Suddenly, everyone wanted her on stage. That moment opened her eyes to a deeper truth about the African creative economy: people only start to care after an artist becomes successful.

“Hafrikplay was built to care before the rest of the industry does to serve both artists and listeners, which other platforms fail to do,” Alaka said.

That conviction became the foundation for Hafrikplay, a Nigerian-founded streaming platform giving African artists more control, fairer pay, and visibility long before fame arrives.

Building Africa’s own music infrastructure

Founded in 2021 by Omobosola Karimat Alaka (CEO), Oluwamayowa Fapohunda (CTO), Destiny Ezenwata (Chief Software Developer), and Abolaji Alaka (COO), Hafrikplay’s goal is to create what Alaka calls “Africa’s own music infrastructure.”

“We want to create a Spotify, YouTube, and SoundCloud that truly represents Africa,” she said. “Former African platforms like Gbedu failed because they didn’t reflect our culture. North Africa has Anghami. We need our own.”

For Hafrikplay, this mission means going beyond Afrobeats.

“Why do we only call it Afrobeats when Africa has so many genres?” Alaka asked. “In East Africa, there’s Soukous and Kidandali. Nigeria has dozens of unique sounds. We don’t want Afrobeats to make the same mistake reggae made when it became tied to just one person, Bob Marley; others struggled.”

Hafrikplay embraces this diversity from Afro drill to Afro fusion, recognising that African music is not one sound.

That philosophy drives Hafrikplay’s focus on emerging artists, not just the A-list names. Alaka’s early experience in the industry showed her that there are far more managers and promoters than real support systems for artists.

While Audiomack allows direct uploads and Spotify caters to artists with existing fame, Hafrikplay combines the best of both. It makes streaming affordable for listeners and profitable for artists.

The global streaming model doesn’t favour African musicians. Spotify pays between $0.003–$0.005 per stream, Apple Music around $0.01, and TIDAL about $0.013, meaning an artist could earn just $300 from 100,000 streams.

Hafrikplay changes that. It pays ₦0.10 (10 kobo) per stream, about $0.1042, a higher rate than global platforms. However, artists start earning after reaching a defined threshold, ensuring sustainability for the platform.

“Why are we even streaming music with Spotify in Africa?” Alaka asked. “Boomplay, with over 100 million users, is Chinese-owned. Audiomack, SoundCloud, Apple Music — all foreign. Spotify is Swedish. None of them truly serve African artists.”

Hafrikplay for the undiscovered

“We care about numbers, just not in the same way others do,” said COO Abolaji Alaka. “Our platform isn’t built for gatekeeping, it’s built for discovery.”

On Hafrikplay, artists can manage their distribution, track analytics, and receive payments directly through an in-app wallet, cutting out middlemen like 1RPM and Empire, who dominate Africa’s streaming ecosystem.

Listeners can equally subscribe for ₦900 ($0.60) per month, cheaper than Spotify’s ₦1,600($1.11) plan. Hafrikplay is also integrating voucher systems through Kuda, Opay, and Wema Bank, enabling fans to support artists locally and internationally.

A planned partnership with MTN Nigeria will let users pay daily, weekly, or monthly by deducting from their airtime or data plans. There’s also Hafrikplay Pro ₦500 ($0.35) monthly for artists and ₦1,000 ($0.69) for listeners. Even without Pro, users enjoy ad-free streaming, unlike YouTube. Artists can also sell tickets for listening parties and merchandise directly on the app, diversifying their income.

A $5 million Series A fundraise

Hafrikplay is currently raising $5 million in Series A funding to expand content acquisition and licensing across Africa. The round is expected to close by Q1 2026.

Licensing can cost streaming startups up to $150,000 monthly from global rights holders like Sony Music. This funding will help Hafrikplay secure familiar songs for user retention while still spotlighting emerging talent.

“We skipped the pre-seed route because we already had traction, users, and a working model,” Alaka said. “Starting small would have limited our ability to build real infrastructure.”

The company’s advisory board includes Olisa Adibua (media expert and co-founder of Storm360) and Chika Nwosu, the General Manager of PalmPay, both bringing decades of industry experience.

Beyond music

Hafrikplay’s long-term vision is to evolve into a creative marketplace where photographers, writers, and other creators can host and monetise their work. Music is only the entry point; the company is already working on Hafrik TV, its next phase. Still, the soul of Hafrikplay remains anchored in one question:

“How do we make people care before fame comes?”

“We’re not building for the stars,” Alaka said. “We are building for the ones who haven’t been discovered yet.”

Hafrikplay is for ownership, access, and empathy in Africa’s digital economy. The company aims to capture 10% of Africa’s creative economy market by 2030, creating a homegrown ecosystem where every African sound, not just Afrobeats, can thrive.