Back in February, TikTok held its annual celebration honoring the most impactful and inspiring creators across Sub-Saharan Africa. While this is a milestone in recognizing talent, the platform’s Creator Fund also known as the TikTok Creator Rewards Program is yet to launch in Africa.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi, is pushing to get the Creator Fund into action. Speaking to the media this past week, Malatsi expressed concern about South African creators being unable to monetise their content, despite the country representing TikTok’s largest footprint on the continent with over 17 million users.
“Digital platforms play an incrementally important role in driving the digital economy. It’s important that TikTok users are able to generate income through activity on the platform and earn fairly what they’re entitled to. It’s a matter of economic justice particularly because the Creator Fund is prevalent in other markets. Given South Africa’s size, it should at least be included among the markets where the Creator Fund has been introduced,” he said.
The Minister also revealed that his department had engaged with TikTok leadership in DAVOS, emphasizing the importance of economic equity and fairness for users across the board. “TikTok understands the magnitude of this issue for South African content creators and the rest of the continent,” he added.
Malatsi stressed that he will continue to engage with the platform until digital creators are able to earn “adequately and efficiently.”
Scroll down to see the TikTok Sub-Sahara winners from earlier this year.
Fashion Creator of the Year -Siyanda Bani
Social Impact Award -Charity Ekezie
Drama & Animation Creator of the Year -Willy Kanga
Beauty Creator of the year -Simphiwe Mbatha
Creator of the Year -Anyanwu Chioma
Travel Creator of the Year -Carlinn Meyer
Entertainment Culture Creator of the Year -Erastus Otieno
Food Creator of the Year -Eugene Kamara
Sports Creator of the Year -Fanuel Masamaki
