Since becoming accessible to the general populace in the early 90s, the internet has connected people in ways that were previously thought of as impossible. The more people started using the internet, the more digital entrepreneurship became a thing.
Contributions to economic growth
In a study done by Forbes in 2021, digital entrepreneurs were valued at $20 billion with estimations that it could grow to a $104.2 billion market in 2022. In another recent statistic published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the creator economy contributes just over 6.1% to global gross domestic product, averaging between 2% and 7% of national GDPs worldwide. It’s safe to say these statistics confirm that the creator economy is providing a new generation of business opportunities, impacting life positively and growing the nation’s economy. The digital entrepreneurs are part of the system that makes up the global creator economy.
People who started as random internet users have realised that they could make a viable career by leveraging social media, software and digital financial tools to monetise their skill and knowledge as content creators, influencers and YouTubers.
The creator economy is growing to be one of the biggest employers of labour. Young Nigerians have turned what was once considered informal work into a viable industry, creating jobs not just for themselves but for others too, and largely responsible for exporting Africa’s contents across the continent and the world.
From content creators’ point of views
According to Douglas Kendyson, CEO of Selar – an e-commerce platform that enables creators to monetize their skills via digital products, “The creator economy’s economic contribution is unique because while most creators start alone; it’s never a one-person show for too long. Creators grow to be employers of labour of many internet skills as they cannot perform all their business functions as time passes, so they tend to hire digital marketers, designers, copywriters and more.”
Different entrepreneurs have shared their thoughts on the state of the creator economy. With a few simple answers, Tayo Aina, Nelly Naijabrandchic, Salem King, and Mitchelle Chibundu share their journey to becoming established creators.
The creator mindset is shifting from passion to profit. Was this always the intention with your business? Popular creator and influencer, Salem King described this as, “A shift in the mindset and creators that what we do for passion can be financially rewarding. I started out trying to have fun not knowing people can pay to have access to my content and community. I realise I have to build a product around these things and put a price on it. I also realise I have to put a price on my time.”
Nigerian entrepreneur, travel YouTuber and blogger, Tayo Aina said, “When I started as a YouTube creator, it was just a form of expression, and I didn’t know I could make money from it. I just wanted to create content, and I started learning how the platform works and from there, I started making my content and pushing it on the platform with no idea of how much I could make. Gradually from making content consistently in July 2019, I realise it could be more of a business. The more content I create, the more money to be made, and then it becomes a full-fledged business”.
However, Nelly Naijabrandchic was solely profit-oriented when she began content creation in 2019.
“I started monetising my knowledge right back from 2019 and I have made a few million here and there, but I had this conviction to get better. I started looking out for better ways to add more value and that has impacted my revenue. On average, I make up to $50,000 – $100,000.”
Speaking on what he makes in terms of revenue, he said,
“In terms of revenue, I went from giving free classes to earning and even employing. The first time I had to do a class, I was afraid to charge. I didn’t charge because I wanted to validate my ideas. When I saw that it impacted people, I had the mind to charge and since then, I have been charging for courses, classes, consultations, partnerships and progressive growth. Over time, I have employed writers and videographers because creating content consistently is becoming too much to handle by myself sometimes.”
Tayo also mentioned that, “For me, I wasn’t making as much money. My first pay wasn’t even up to $50 and going from there to where I am, it’s been fulfilling. It’s not just about the money but also the access to people and places that were unattainable before. The growth in revenue has been good. Besides YouTube, I recently launched a course on Selar that is doing well.”
According to Mitchelle Chibundu, the brain behind designerbabe.com, her confidence to set a price on the value of her products led to positive growth.
According to her, “When I wrote my first e-book, I had no plans to sell it because I was anxious and I wasn’t sure if people would want to pay for it. The confidence has helped me set a price and venture into selling other digital products. I have done courses and many more things are coming.”
Starting out your career as a creator, you’re the only one working on your brand but, as you advance, in your career, there is a need to have a team or outsource work. This now makes you an employer of labour.
Speaking further,Tayo said, “I needed to scale up the production process and the only way this could be done is by hiring more competent people. Then, it started becoming less of just me and more of a business. I hired a film editor, taught them about my workflow, and I noticed within a year, my income doubled. My production output also doubled. From there, I kept hiring more people to help push the brand to a very desired position.”
Nelly Naijabrandchic on her part added that, “While the brand gets more extensive, you continue to hire more skilled hands, especially when you want more customers to come on board with what you do. You need to make sure you hire the right hands and don’t drop the ball anywhere while focusing on what you are skilled at. I currently have 15 staff working with me full-time and part-time.”
Earn more money
There has been a rise in the digital and anxillary support industry. E-commerce platforms such as Selar and Africreator are designed to help creators earn money by selling digital products and services. As a result, creators can focus on creating unique niche content that caters for their audience’s interests. With over a billion people in Africa, it goes to show that there’s a massive market for creator platforms. Shopify, Amazon, Teachable and Udemy all exist and are turning a profit in this same industry. The same can be said for platforms like Selar that are poised to help African creators monetise their knowledge via digital products and membership.
According to Mr Kendyson, “With Selar, we’re keen on making it easy for anyone to monetise their knowledge via digital products and enable cross-border trade in Africa and the rest of the world. In the last two years, we’ve paid over four million dollars to African creators selling digital products on our platform.”
“Asides from the revenue, one other major highlight for us was seeing that most of the creators that use our platform are employers of labour, and that’s how impactful creators of today are. They end up hiring for digital and non-digital skills, making job creation and revenue growth evident as more African creators create more exportable content.”
The creator economy, no doubt is providing a new generation of business opportunities, impacting life positively and growing the nation’s economy.
Metro
