Uganda’s Nyege Nyege fest signs three-year deal with MTN

The three-year deal means the event will now be known as MTN Nyege Nyege Festival and that it will continue to develop and attract artists as well as music, arts and culture enthusiasts at least until 2020.

MTN Uganda chief marketing officer Olivier Prentout made the announcement in Kampala on Wednesday night.

“MTN Uganda is delighted to be the title sponsor of the Nyege Nyege International Music Festival,” he said. “As a brand we recognise that being part of this celebration of the arts and culture for three days non-stop helps create sustainability of this very important festival.”

Nyege Nyege founder Derek Debru said the telco’s support would bring security to hosting the festival on an annual basis.

“We would like to thank MTN Uganda for believing in this celebration of music and culture,” Debru said. “This will be an opportunity for us to keep hosting the event and supporting the ever-increasing numbers that turn up to celebrate.”

Prentout said MTN Uganda wanted to connect underground musicians from across the continent with one another through the MTN Music+ online platform because the company was all about “celebration, innovation and growth facilitation of others”.

"Our relationship with Nyege Nyege will also be going further than the festival as we want them to be part of our music strategy and to ensure we promote local talent,” Prentout told Music In Africa. “Our unique digital platform can contribute significantly to an artist’s income. It is work in progress but we are both very engaged in this process.”

Prentout said the company was working to enable festivalgoers and merchants to use the MTN Mobile Money service during the three-day event.

“We want together with Nyege Nyege to create a cashless festival where all purchases will be made via our MoMoPay service,” he said. “This will be of great advantage for our patrons as they will not have to worry about change, carrying cash for three days or the likelihood of theft. There will also be lots of discounts offered on ticketing and purchases made via MTN Mobile Money.”

Since its debut in 2015, the festival has been revered for its work in exploring, producing and releasing underground music from the East African region through its affiliation with Ugandan label Nyege Nyege Tapes. The label has showcased emerging artists such as Disco Vumbi and electro-Acholi pioneer Otim Alpha.

Music In Africa spoke to Otim Alpha about what the partnership with MTN Uganda could mean for artists.

"There are so many yet-to-be-discovered musicians in Uganda,” he said. “MTN with its huge database will enable the Nyege Nyenge team to continue to identify underground musicians that are yet to be discovered. Nyege Nyege is very good at discovering new artists and presenting them to the world. We look forward to the several editions that MTN will sponsor."

This fourth edition of the festival, which was recently featured as one of the best festivals in Africa by US aggregator Fest300, takes place from 6 to 9 September on the shores of the Nile River in Jinja.

Meanwhile, the 2018 edition of MTN Bushfire festival was launched in Johannesburg, South Africa, earlier this week.

For more information about MTN Nyege Nyege Festival, visit the official website.