Marvin Mvondo launches SplashArk in Cameroon

Marvin Mvondo, a Cameroonian entrepreneur with a background in the music and events business, has launched SplashArk, an app that brings artist bookings, live shows, sales and payments into one platform. The app launches on 7 October and is aimed at people working across the entertainment business.

Mvondo is not new to the industry. He previously ran Blu Nation and has worked with artists including Rema, Davido and Mr P. His work has also included concerts and festivals in Africa and international markets. That experience sits behind the idea for SplashArk.

More than booking an artist

An artist's booking is usually only one part of putting on a show. There is a venue to deal with, tickets to sell and payments to collect. There can also be merchandise, other products and services tied to the event. SplashArk is designed to bring some of these activities together.

Users can use the platform for bookings and sales, while live shows and payments are also built into the app. For artists and event organisers, the appeal is fairly straightforward: fewer separate services to deal with when arranging and making money from an event.

Mvondo's experience is part of the pitch

Mvondo has spent much of his career around artists and live entertainment, rather than coming into the market as a software founder with no connection to the sector. Through Blu Nation and his work on concerts and festivals, he has worked with artists and other people involved in putting entertainment events together.

That gives SplashArk a fairly specific starting point. Rather than trying to build an app for every type of small business from the beginning, it is starting with an industry Mvondo already knows. The platform could eventually be useful to other creators and people working around events, but entertainment is where the business is starting.

The real test will be adoption

SplashArk is entering a market where artists and promoters already have plenty of options. Social media is used to promote shows and reach fans. Ticketing platforms handle event admissions. Payment services allow customers to pay without cash. Bookings can also be arranged directly between artists, agents and promoters.

So the question for SplashArk is not whether these services exist. They do. The question is whether artists, promoters and customers will see enough value in having them together in one app to change how they currently work. That will depend on the number of artists and events available on the platform, how easy payments are and whether organisers can actually save time or make more money by using it.

For Mvondo, the move into technology builds on a business he already knows. SplashArk is now taking that experience and turning it into a product. Its next challenge is getting people in the entertainment business to use it.