Uganda's Maurice Kirya releases album on SulaPay

However, frustration from a lack of monetisation of his music has forced the artist to become more innovative by partnering up with a local digital platform. Kirya hasn struck a deal with SulaPay, a Ugandan Fintech start-up, to sell Free Dreams in the country, exclusively online.

“This is the first step and such innovations will create a marketplace and better opportunities for other entrepreneurs,” SulaPay’s proprietor, Isaac Kyuka, said about the partnership.

Kirya’s previous studio albums, Misubbaawa, The Book of Kirya and Mwooyo, were only sold on iTunes and this partnership with SulaPay is supposed to ensure that his music is easily accessible to his local fans. The mobile money start-up also hopes to provide a local solution to other Ugandan artists in the near future.

"The partnership is born out of the pure frustration that there are no innovative and easy ways creators, especially musicians, can sell their products online,” Kyuka stated.

Kirya said this was the perfect time to release the album, as he was seeking a new direction as an artist. Talking to Afroway, he said apart from tackling deep topics such as everyday life and love, the album also compelled people to be in touch with who they really were.

The 10-track album consists of songs such as ‘Crippin’, ‘Dreams are Free’ and ‘Heaven on Earth’.