Ticketmaster is set to enter Kenya’s live entertainment market through Quicket, marking a long-term investment in East Africa’s growing events industry.
The platform will bring fully digital ticketing tailored to Kenyan consumers, helping curb ticket fraud and streamline fan entry. Customers will also benefit from local payment options, including Safaricom’s M-Pesa and Airtel Money, making ticket purchases faster, simpler and more accessible across the country.
At the heart of the platform is the ability to meet fans where they already are. Africa’s 1.6 billion people are the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population, with a generation of fans increasingly discovering, sharing, and buying through their phones. Through global event distribution across Spotify, Google, Meta, Bandsintown, and Apple Music, Quicket puts events directly into the places where fans already discover artists, music, and live experiences – helping organisers reach new audiences and turning discovery into ticket sales.
That same focus on fans is shaping what comes next. Quicket is developing WhatsApp-based ticketing to bring event discovery and purchase closer to fans’ everyday conversations, alongside AI-powered tools that will make it easier to find and buy tickets.
Quicket is already working with some of Kenya’s leading events and experience brands, including Kilifi’s flagship festival Beneath the Baobabs and food discovery platform EatOut, helping connect them with wider audiences through its ticketing and discovery capabilities.
John Masembe, Business Operation Director at Quicket, said: “Spend a weekend in Nairobi or head to one of Kenya’s festivals and you can feel the energy immediately. From packed music events and festival crowds to food, culture and social experiences, Kenya has a vibrant and growing live entertainment scene. Live experiences are deeply woven into the country’s culture, and fans are showing a huge appetite for coming together.
“Quicket and Ticketmaster’s role is to help build the infrastructure behind that momentum, making it easier for organisers, artists, and venues to grow, connect with audiences, and scale live experiences across Kenya.”
Justin Van Wyk, Managing Director of Ticketmaster South Africa, said: “Kenya is an exciting live entertainment market, with a young, mobile-first audience and a growing community of organisers, artists, and venues creating experiences for fans across the country. Quicket has the local knowledge and relationships to serve that market well.
“Our role is to back that expertise with Ticketmaster’s global scale, giving event organisers, artists, and fans in Kenya the same market-leading ticketing experience audiences expect anywhere in the world. We’re excited about the opportunity to support the continued growth of Kenya’s live entertainment ecosystem.”
The expansion formalises Quicket’s long-standing presence in East Africa. Since 2016, the company has worked with its local partners, building close to a decade of on-the-ground experience, local relationships and field-services capability across the region.