African content creators are calling for fairer remuneration, increased investment and improved access to digital advertising platforms, following findings that African podcasts attract strong audience engagement, but generate significantly lower advertising revenues than comparable content in other markets.
The concerns emerged on Monday during the launch of the Creative Africa Intelligence Report at Barraza Media Lab, where industry stakeholders highlighted disparities in digital monetisation, advertising rates and access to revenue-sharing programmes on platforms such as YouTube and Spotify.
Eric Kinaga, Executive Director of Barraza Media Lab, said African creativity was not suffering from a shortage of talent or audiences, but from systems that failed to translate creative work into sustainable income.
“When does potential become prosperity? When does applause turn into income? And when do a million views translate into a decent life for creatives?” he posed.
Kinaga said the Report examined approximately 330 pieces of African broadcast content across YouTube and Spotify, with its model suggesting that the same content could command approximately 1.4 million US dollars more in advertising value if priced at rates available in higher-paying markets.
He noted that African podcasts recorded stronger engagement than the international benchmarks used in the Report, demonstrating that the continent’s creators were attracting audiences without receiving a proportionate share of the economic value generated.
Kinaga called on global platforms to provide African creators with fair access to monetisation opportunities, while urging investors, advertisers and governments, to treat the creative economy as a serious economic sector.
He said investment was needed in advertising systems, audience measurement, payment solutions and other infrastructure that connects creative production to income.
“We cannot build a thriving creative economy through applause only,” he said, noting that recognition alone could not pay editors, sustain studios or meet the needs of content creators.
Dan Aceda, a broadcasting industry investor who presented findings on podcasting economics, said African creators were producing approximately 1,338,000 podcast episodes annually through YouTube and Spotify, representing about two per cent of the global podcasting market.
He attributed the difficulty in measuring Africa’s contribution partly to digital platforms’ limited ability to identify the geographical origin of content, making it difficult to accurately assess the continent’s overall production and commercial value.
Aceda said monetisation remained a major challenge, explaining that Spotify’s podcast monetisation and advertising functions were unavailable across the African countries he examined, while YouTube monetisation was available in only 30 of Africa’s 54 countries.
He observed that the situation left many creators unable to earn directly from their work despite investing time, equipment and resources in producing content.
According to Aceda, African podcasts were nevertheless performing competitively in audience engagement, with some markets recording rates that exceeded those of prominent international productions.
He cited an engagement rate of 3.32 per cent in Uganda and 2.21 per cent in Ghana, compared with 2.35 per cent for a major international podcast episode featuring Elon Musk on Joe Rogan’s programme.
Aceda explained that the figures were calculated using likes and comments relative to total views, an approach intended to measure active audience participation.
He said differences in advertising rates also affected earnings, with a Kenyan podcaster potentially earning substantially less than a counterpart in a higher-paying market despite similar views and performance.
Aceda described the disparity as a “geography discount,” explaining that digital advertising prices were influenced by the platforms’ assessment of the advertising revenue available in particular territories.
He added that South Africa generally attracted higher advertising rates than Kenya and Nigeria, while structural challenges, including limited advertising insertion services and cross-border payment difficulties, further constrained the region’s podcasting industry.
The investor said the sector had significant potential to create employment if creators received compensation comparable to international market rates.
Based on a sample of 200 shows and episodes, his analysis estimated that the industry could sustain 352 jobs under current conditions, compared with a potential 890 jobs if creators received higher international-level remuneration.
Aceda urged podcasters to establish direct partnerships with brands to reduce dependence on platform-based advertising revenue.
He said creators should demonstrate the value of their audiences to advertisers, strengthen their rate cards and pursue direct commercial arrangements that allow brands to pay for content and sponsorships.
He further encouraged investors to channel resources beyond production and distribution towards monetisation systems, which he identified as an area requiring greater development.
The report also highlighted opportunities presented by the African diaspora, noting that creators based abroad could access markets with higher advertising rates while producing content relevant to African audiences.
Aceda said better identification and attribution of diaspora-produced content could help demonstrate the contribution of African creators to the global podcasting industry.
He identified Kenya as the continent’s most prolific podcasting market by production volume, while Nigeria commanded a larger audience and South Africa generally generated higher advertising revenue per view.
The findings point to the need for stronger industry collaboration, transparent platform policies and investment in infrastructure to ensure that Africa’s growing digital content sector translates into sustainable economic opportunities.
Kinaga said African institutions also had a responsibility to support emerging creators and build an ecosystem capable of sustaining creative enterprises beyond individual projects or funding programmes.
He expressed hope that the Report would inform investment decisions, encourage partnerships and stimulate policy discussions aimed at ensuring African creators receive fair returns for their work.
The stakeholders said the continent’s creative future would depend not only on the ability to produce compelling stories and attract audiences, but also on establishing sustainable systems through which that value could be measured, commercialised and shared.
By Samuel Njoroge
