VLogs by Nigerian content creators Tayo Aina feature anything from Nigeria Japan (immigration) wave and voodoo festival. Performing with Afrobeats stars in Benin david or last hunter-gatherer tribe. In Tanzania, you can get millions of views on YouTube.

Aina, 31, who started the channel in 2017 while working as an Uber driver, says it has allowed her to see parts of Nigeria that she had never had the chance to visit before. Using his iPhone, he began a mini-travel adventure, taking breaks to record the places he visited and tell stories not covered in mainstream media.

Aina learned how to film and edit through YouTube tutorials, saved up to buy better equipment, and soon began traveling beyond Nigeria to countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, and Namibia, learning about the continent’s culture and social life. He created a travel video that introduces Africa through the lens of photography. African traveler.

“Most of the online media was negative, and I realized that I was trying to change the narrative about Africa by presenting it more clearly. It’s light,” says Aina, who now travels around the world.

Africa’s Creator Industry 2024 Report Research by publisher Communiqué and media technology company TM Global values ​​the sector at £2.4bn and predicts it will grow five times by 2030, reflecting trends in the global creator economy. Its growth is being driven by a wave of creators between the ages of 18 and 34, a surge in internet connectivity and social media usage across the continent, and the explosion of African culture on the world stage.

Growing interest in African culture – from Afrobeats and Amapiano Music and dance to an international fashion collection made from African textiles such as Ankara and Kikyoy. African movies – This is part of an international aspiration for authentic cultural storytelling outside the Arctic Circle, reflected in global cultural movements such as Hallyu, says David Adeleke, Founder of Communiqué.

This year, TikTok recognized More than a dozen African creators including Nigerian lifestyle creators @__iremide, a person who makes videos that satirize everyday life, and a South African Sachiko-sama. The 22-year-old is known for cosplaying characters from anime, video games, and pop culture. Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of international affairs, recently said: held a meeting Other social media platforms such as YouTube and TikTok are increasing their presence and Heva I’m getting involved.

The report says the industry is gaining momentum but is still young. Most content creators are in their third year of work, have fewer than 10,000 followers, and are faced with the challenge of turning social capital into income. The report adds that discussions about the monetization and standardization of the creator business ecosystem continue to take place primarily in Western countries.

But that is gradually changing.

As Aina’s channel grew and attracted a more international audience, he discovered what he was capable of. more and more It cost him money when his content was viewed by Western audiences rather than Africa. YouTube’s advertising model relies on ad spend, which is lower in many African markets than in North America and Europe.

“Part of the reason is economic. Generally speaking, Western creators and audiences have more resources, but that alone is not enough to justify the disparity in opportunity. ” says Adeleke.

As Aina began diversifying her content and audience to generate more income, there were other issues to worry about. He shares a video about the barriers and prejudice he faced during his travels, including being detained in Ethiopia on suspicion of drug possession, being arrested in South Africa on suspicion of being a “fraudster” and being refused entry to Dubai. I’ve posted it on my blog. The 2022 incident in Dubai was the “last straw” for Aina. Aina invested her savings in St. Kitts and Nevis and eventually secured a passport from St. Kitts and Nevis, becoming a citizen of the Caribbean nation.

He currently runs the Creator Academy on YouTube, where he has trained nearly 2,000 mostly African creators. “I want the next generation of Africans to grow their brands globally without limitations,” he says.

Chiamaka “Amaka” Amaku A 30-year-old Nigerian travel and lifestyle innovator who works as a social media manager and creates content as a personal project, believes digital infrastructure issues, including the challenges of sending and receiving international money, are a challenge for Nigerian creators. It says it can limit growth. Some global payment platforms have imposed restrictions on certain countries, including Nigeria, due to concerns about fraud and money laundering.

“Payment is one of the biggest challenges in Nigeria’s creator economy,” Amaku said, adding that payment barriers deter global brands from working with Nigerian creators.

In recent years, fintech companies such as flutter wave and salary stack While supporting international payments has reduced the barriers creators face in accepting digital payments, many restrictions remain, including local bank policies. For travel creators like Amaku, that means it’s harder to book flights or take Uber abroad.

Amaku, who charges between £250 and £500 for posts on his Instagram page, which has around 20,000 followers, says it is difficult to make a living from creating content and there is a “culture of secrecy” around fees in the industry in Nigeria. He says that many people have died because of this. Creators quickly changed.

Sharon Makira A 31-year-old Kenyan luxury travel creator who describes her audience as “Afropolitan champagne nomads” agrees. He said competition for brand sponsorships is fierce because many companies still rely on traditional advertising, so negotiating rates can become a race to the bottom.

With around 20,000 followers on Instagram and 7,000 followers on YouTube, she gets around five brand deals a year, and is paid around £600 to £1,000 per campaign. When she became a full-time content creator last year, after nearly a decade in media and PR, she realized she couldn’t make a living relying on a few unpredictable brand deals, so companies started creating content. We have opened a PR studio that allows you to tailor your business to suit your needs. Cooperate with viewers, travel agencies and other businesses nomad And luxury lodges in Rwanda Singita Kwitonda.

According to her, building a business around a social media brand can earn you several times more per project than a brand deal. “I think there’s real promise there.” [African] Creators: Leverage your social capital, network, credibility, and personal brand to launch your business,” she says.