Online Reporter
Bruce Ndlovu Sunday Life Reporter
WHEN global music streaming services began gaining popularity, gradually replacing physical copies of songs and albums, many saw it as the birth of a brave new world.
Piracy — the notorious “burning” of compact discs — had decimated artistes’ revenues and streaming seemed like a godsend, a doorway into a brighter future where musicians could once again earn from their work.
Yet, with the world now firmly in the grip of platforms such as Spotify and iTunes that promised future has yet to arrive for most Zimbabwean artistes.
In 2020, a Unesco study on the Zimbabwean music industry revealed that 68 percent of artistes had never earned a cent from online streaming services.
The study came just months before Spotify, the global streaming giant with an estimated 760 million monthly active users, announced its arrival in Zimbabwe and 84 other markets across Africa and beyond.
Five years later, in an industry increasingly defined by algorithms, Zimbabwean artistes remain locked out of the very systems meant to sustain them. While global platforms promise exposure, the reality is harsher; visibility does not always translate into viability.
It is within this gap that Zvakho, a new home-grown platform, seeks to redraw the map.
Founded by Nama award-winning filmmaker Lenni Mdawini Sibanda, Zvakho is not just another digital marketplace. As Sibanda describes it, it is “a fan monetisation service,” designed to allow artistes to earn directly from their audiences without relying on international intermediaries.
“Our model is simple, Zvakho is a fan monetisation service. We create opportunities for artistes — musicians in this case — to monetise their fans, allowing them to purchase music directly without going through international streaming platforms, which unfortunately do not pay properly,” Sibanda told Sunday Life.
The numbers behind global streaming platforms are sobering.
With payouts averaging around 0.003 cents per stream on Spotify and similarly low returns on YouTube, many African artistes are effectively working for fractions of a cent, despite commanding large local followings.
“Which does not make sense if you look at what Spotify and even YouTube are giving us as African content creators,” Sibanda added.
Beyond economics lies an even deeper issue. In Zimbabwe, streaming services remain largely urban, leaving vast audiences — especially outside major cities — without access to local music.
Zvakho’s solution is both simple and radical: meet audiences where they already are.
As of 2024, around 5 million of Zimbabwe’s 16 million people used WhatsApp, a platform that carries more than half of the country’s internet traffic. According to DataReportal’s Global Digital Insights report, there were also over 2,05 million social media users aged 18 and above, representing roughly 22,8 percent of the adult population.
“Our platform is easy. We partner with artistes, create their digital presence and stores, and then sell music. For now, we started with musicians from Bulawayo,” Sibanda said.
Zvakho’s innovation has already drawn recognition, taking third place in the Creative Young Entrepreneur category at the Junior Chamber International entrepreneurial awards.
Among the first artistes on board are Mdu Sevan, gospel singer Vusa Mangena and Amapiano artiste Absoll Luz — a trio reflecting the diversity and ambition of the platform’s early vision.
Unlike crowded marketplaces, Zvakho offers each artiste an individualised digital storefront, accessible through direct links and, crucially, via WhatsApp.
“It is not a bazaar. It is not a marketplace where everyone has to hustle on one platform. We offer individualised stores, for now operating through WhatsApp,” Sibanda explained.
In a country where WhatsApp is arguably the most widely used digital tool, this decision may prove to be Zvakho’s masterstroke.
“We are using this platform because we want it to be available to as many people as possible. We actually sell the music on WhatsApp. So WhatsApp is our e-commerce platform,” he said.
By transforming a familiar messaging app into a point of sale, Zvakho sidesteps the infrastructural limitations that have long constrained digital music distribution in Zimbabwe.
The idea, Sibanda noted, emerged from years of working closely with artistes.
“Zvakho came about through interaction with musicians. As a filmmaker, I have worked with them on videos, interviews and podcasts. I realised the chief pain point is that people have no way of monetising their art,” he said.
The consequences have been severe.
“We were losing a lot of artistes. Attrition is high. You cannot grind for five to ten years without earning much. Many simply give up,” Sibanda observed.
For him, Zvakho is as much about retention as revenue — a desperate bid to keep Zimbabwe’s creative voices alive.
“This is an artiste-created platform. I am also an artiste, so I understand the problem stems from us not having our own platforms,” he said.
The journey from idea to implementation has been swift. Conceived in 2025, Zvakho moved into active development in early 2026, with its first artiste joining in February to help refine the system.
“We had time to conceptualise it first, but now we are in the action stage. We have a website and our own WhatsApp e-commerce platform,” Sibanda said.
Despite being in its early stages, Zvakho’s ambitions are expansive. It is open to artistes across genres and regions, though with a degree of selectivity.
“Zvakho is not for everyone. It is for serious artistes who are serious about making money,” Sibanda emphasised.
Initial artistes were handpicked for their work ethic and entrepreneurial mindset, but Sibanda stressed that the door remains open to others who share that drive.
Applications are handled through the platform’s website, where prospective artistes are assessed for fit. Importantly, Zvakho does not seek to replace existing distribution channels but to complement them.
“We are not a platform that steals from artistes or forces them into binding contracts. Artistes are still free to sell through Spotify, iTunes or any other platform.”
This flexibility positions Zvakho less as a disruptor and more as a corrective — a system designed to plug the gaps left by global platforms never built with Zimbabwean realities in mind.
Looking ahead, Sibanda sees Zvakho as part of a broader continental movement.
“We are countrywide… and we aim to venture beyond Zimbabwe’s borders as soon as possible because this is an African problem. By 2027, we should be present across most of Southern Africa.”
Sidumisile Mabena