Meta, the owner of Facebook, has introduced features that allow content creators in Kenya to make money off short-form videos with advertisements. This marks a key milestone for the creative industry in Kenya.
It announced two monetization options, in-stream ads that come before, during, or after videos on Facebook, and ads across Reels on Facebook and accompanying short videos. The rollout places Kenya among 11 other African countries, including Egypt, Nigeria, Rwanda, Ghana, and Seychelles, where Meta shares ad revenue with creators.
This extension will further allow the eligible creators in the vibrant creative Industry in Kenya to earn money, but raise the creativity bar for the rest of the world and give Meta’s family of apps the one-stop-shop stature for all creators,” noted Moon Baz, Global Partnerships Lead at Meta for Africa, Middle East, and Turkey.
The journey to get Meta’s monetisation features to Kenya began in March when Meta’s President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg visited the country and met with President William Ruto. The rollout of monetization, that was earlier set to go live by June for both Facebook and Instagram, has only been announced to roll out for Facebook, leaving creators on the Instagram platform waiting.
For one to be eligible for the new program, creators must have a minimum of 5,000 followers on Facebook and over 60 000 minutes in total watch time during the past two months. The Communications Authority of Kenya reports that at least 52 percent of Kenyans above the age of 15 still use the Facebook social media platform. Other Meta platforms widely used in the country include WhatsApp, used by 48.5 percent, and Instagram, used by 11.5 percent of the population.
So far, only YouTube and X have shared ad revenues with creators in the country. The move by Meta is likely to be a key fillip for local content creators with new opportunities opening up for monetization and creative production on the platform.