African creator economy’s resilience challenged by economic uncertainty
As the creator economy in Africa has grown in recent years, enabling talented people to leverage their skills in this digital age, the likelihood of global recession in the near future may unravel the true resilience of the creator economy.
Rather than just generating a steady income, digital creators around Africa are also creating jobs for other professionals, according to a recent report entitled ‘The African Creator Economy and The Future of Work’. The study, commissioned by Selar, claims more than 1 in 4 digital creators have hired someone to collaborate on projects, but for Bloggers and YouTubers, it’s even 1 in 3. Overall, 66.9% of digital creators in Africa hire one staff or more in the first six months of their journey. On the flip side, the report cites one potential long-term effect of the creator economy, which is the displacement of traditional jobs and industries. As more people turn to the creator economy as a source of income, there is a risk that traditional jobs in industries like media, marketing, and entertainment will become obsolete.
However, as the global economy grapples with the uncertainties of recessions and economic downturns, and with two-thirds of economists predict a recession to occur this year, according to Forbes, experts are concerned that it will likely have an impact on the resilience of Africa’s creator economy. The soaring inflation and unemployment rates lead to the potential decline in consumer spending, and Africa is not immune to its effects. To that end, some experts argue that the creator economy possesses a particular susceptibility to economic downturns due to its inherent competitiveness and volatility. “The challenges for creators are endless, but the top of my list would be power and the internet [both of which] must be affordable and available to power devices,” according to CEO Selar Douglas Kendyson. “Unfortunately, these challenges persist for content creators in Nigeria and Africa in 2023,” Kendyson said, adding that “on a positive note, there’s a lot of improvement in the cost of data around the continent with more providers making better plans, but there’s still more work to be done.”
