The head of the creative economy, Dennis Itumbi, has revealed the government's plan to introduce TikTok monetisation in Kenya.
Speaking on Monday night during the memorial service for comedian Mr KK Mwenyewe, Itumbi stated that the government would engage with TikTok Global to address concerns raised by content creators in Kenya. He added that if the platform failed to meet their demands, Kenya would consider launching its own TikTok-adjacent paid platform.
To achieve this, however, he emphasised the need for unity and for presenting the appeal to the social media giant collectively. He revealed that the government would be seeking out comedian and media personality Eddie Butita to organise the event.
"If we are an organisation, we can ask TikTok Global and tell them our concerns. If they do not agree with us, we can even form our own Kenyan TikTok and create our own monetisation from there," he said.
"We need to come together and have a strong movement that can negotiate. Having said that, I will invite TikTok Global and will ask my friend Butita to offer his media company to organise us, and we have a one-day thing. I will bring the top leadership of TikTok, and we will raise the issues. TikTok is a private company, so the government can only do so much."
Currently, Kenyan TikTok creators are not eligible to earn from any of TikTok's paid initiatives, including the Creator Fund, Advertising Platform, and Effect Creator Rewards.
In fact, only three African countries, South Africa, Egypt, and Morocco, can earn from the Effect Creator Rewards, while none of the African countries are included in the other two programmes.
As such, Kenyan TikTok creators often rely on brand sponsorships or, more commonly, live virtual gifts from viewers, which can be converted into diamonds and then cashed out.
On the other hand, Kenyan content creators can generate revenue from Facebook, a development that President William Ruto has often taken pride in achieving.
After prolonged talks with the Meta-owned social media giant, Kenyan creators on Facebook became monetised in June 2024.
Among the requirements for monetisation on Facebook is having at least 500 followers for a minimum of 30 consecutive days. The page must also be public, whether through Facebook Pages, profiles in professional mode, events, or groups.
It must also follow community standards, such as avoiding hate speech, avoiding intimate content and inauthentic content.
