EP 13 | The Somali Creator Economy: Why Most Creators Struggle to Make Money

Why are so many creators building content but not making money?

In this episode, we explore the Somali creator economy and the gap between talent and income. Amin Abdi, founder of LiveX Africa, shares insights on youth unemployment, digital opportunities, and what it really takes to turn content into a sustainable income stream.

We discuss the mindset, skills, and strategies creators need to move from posting content to building real income in today’s digital economy.

If you’re a creator, entrepreneur, or someone trying to find new opportunities, this episode will change how you think about work.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

You can start monetizing monetizing as early as having 1,000 followers.

SPEAKER_02 0:03

Give me maybe an example of how somebody can earn with a thousand followers.

SPEAKER_01 0:08

If you have a thousand followers, you are called a nano influencer. A nano influencer is someone who has between 1,000 followers to 10,000 followers. You see? So one thing that are known for nano influencers is trust and authenticity. These people you see, these nano influencers are people you meet with every day. And these people, when it comes to being passionate about a brand product, they are very passionate. They love collaborating with brands and they love working with brands. The reason I normally say instead of going for these big influencers, celebrity status, go for these small, small ones because they are passionate about what you do and they will repeatly do for bring for you clients. Because they don't care about what you are paying them. What they care about is your existence. But these big influencers, like there you have to pass agencies, you have to do a lot of tasks. And mostly 90% of these big influencers, they do not allow and they do not allow you to see the analytics of your campaigns.

SPEAKER_02 1:08

So like why are you doing that if if you analytics are like one of the most important things because how would I know what you've done on the results of the work that you've done if you don't have a lot of people? Asalamu Alaikum and welcome back to another episode of the Cultured Voices Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Fatima Mohammed, and today, actually, guys, we are talking about such uh an interesting topic, a topic actually that I'm interested in, and I know a lot of the youth out there are actually interested in too, especially the Somali youth. So the topic for today is going to be the Somali creators economy. And you know, a lot of the time we talk about um, inshaAllah, we'll get into that, but first I want to introduce my guest. Assalamu alaikum Amin.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

Oh alaikum, salamu rahama.

SPEAKER_02 2:05

How are you?

SPEAKER_01 2:05

I'm doing good. What about you?

SPEAKER_02 2:07

I'm good, Alhamdulillah. I appreciate you so much for being here. Thank you for honoring our invite.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

Gari Busana.

SPEAKER_02 2:13

Mashallah. So if you can introduce yourself to the audience.

SPEAKER_01 2:17

Yes, my name is Amin Abdi, and I'm the co-founder and CEO of LifeX Africa, an influencer marketing company that connects uh Somali influencers to both brands and uh politicians.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

Oh, that sounds incredible. We'll get in, inshallah, we'll get into what LifeX is about. But first, I wanted us to talk a little bit about like, you know, how we always talk about unemployment and lack of opportunities, especially for the youth. So, what I just want to um think about is that is it that we lack opportunity and we lack jobs, or is it that we have not adapted to where the opportunities are moving?

SPEAKER_01 2:53

Yes, uh for me what I will say is uh when it comes to employment, it's all about your mindset. Yeah, you can unawzasema, me when you go jobless killer time on a jambia, bona sericali inipati kazi mbona oh mbona like uh why is this happening to me and this happening to the I mean like you start complaining about uh sericali economy. But at the same time, you can look look at the bigger picture. The world is uh I mean like there is uh full the world is full of abundance, kuna mambo mingi, there is this one that you call the creative economy. Any any person, as long as you you like, as long as you have a camera or I mean like it's not master camera or kunayo for you can just start doing something on online. And uh even though unemployment in kwa kichwa you kitua kwa kichwa on za kufkiria vile, unazapangama isha oko na mamboyako.

SPEAKER_02 3:47

That's true. Um I think um one of the things I like about what you just said is the fact that a lot of the time I think we just we we complain a lot about the opportunities not being there, but I think maybe we just need to shift shift our mindset and start maybe uh talking about how we can create our own opportunities. Like if we, for example, now talk about um the creative economy and what and how it's reshaping, you know, like how people earn globally. It's actually huge, you know, like the creative economy is actually very big. And maybe before we go further, I would love to maybe if we can define what creative economy is. And I think a lot of people just see it as content creators and influencers, but that's not the case. Creative economy is um like anyone who can earn with their creativity. For example, if you are a photographer, if you're a videographer, if you are a content creator, if you are someone who just um wants to share your knowledge and you want to share your experience online, all of these things can, I'm sure it's much broader than what I am uh pointing out. Maybe if you want to add on that.

SPEAKER_01 4:52

Yeah, and so the creative economy used to be uhikuanga villas. Sometime back before COVID, and the creator economy used to have around uh 60 million and creators. So COVID, ikakuja, mambo ikakoa online, everyone I mean. Online there's something you can do. Kilamuta meona kunakitu online. So so from imagine in 2019 it was around 60 million creators. Ukiangaliya Leo, my sab we are creators like around the world. It's around 200 million. And that's really, yeah, that's a really a good number, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:24

And that's it, is it that in Kenya?

SPEAKER_01 5:26

No, no, I'm talking about the old one.

SPEAKER_02 5:28

Globally, okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:28

Yeah, globally, it used to be around 60 million. Wow. Globally. The creators around the world. And then right now it took 200 million. And in 2032, it will be around 400 million. Wow. That's huge numbers. So you can imagine this industry has employed a lot of youth compared to any industry in this world. You can go to the film and film production industry. It's all under the creative industry. So I imagine a lot of youth, a lot of unemployed youth can just take up this opportunity and start looking at the creative economy in another in a different perspective. Like you can start thinking of your life, like you can start thinking of your talent, like what can I do? Being creative is all about that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. This guy is called uh Mohammed Ordai. No. The guy has been spotlighted by a Nike, so he's in Somalia.

SPEAKER_00 6:32

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

So every time I like Anachikwa camera, anakimbiya camera kimbi. Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_02 6:40

But I can imagine.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

So the guy Anachuka everyday use very consistent. I think for uh a period of a lot, like I think one year, two years. So mjamachikua camera Ivy and Akimbiya, Kimbiya Ievi. I think he started last year, I'm 2024. I'm not sure. So an Akimbiya IV. So Nike just spotlighted him like, eh, Kwaneauna Vietu, Walimambe. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 7:02

You know, and that's the amazing part about this because you don't really know who's watching out there, and you don't know who's listening. So it just the fact that you know, like you put yourself out there, and what you said about consistency, that is the hardest thing to do as a creator is to being consistent. But that's actually what leads you to bigger spaces, right?

SPEAKER_01 7:22

Yeah, yeah, of course, of course. You have to be consistent, you have to be disciplined, you have to be dedicated. Everything let up amoja and then start. Because when I imagine okay for and then after one month on a stop, on a give up. So what do you expect? Exactly. Like when anza leo, like on anza mm-bona food, you are you love food like restaurants, and then after one month on a stop. Like it doesn't make sense. So stick to one niche, anza nakitumoja, kua consistent, and there are by this some some creators we call and multi-type creators. Like they can do a lot of stuff at the same time. But for you to reach that level, you have to start with something. Anza naka unafaku anza nakito moja kuza, and then and then uksha perfectio, like you could kwe some few months, like six months, a year, two years, whichever the line will be there. Anything that you you feel like unata kufanya as a creator.

SPEAKER_02 8:28

That's amazing. And I think one of the things that I also liked uh that you said previously is the fact that um with the creative economy, it's all about just your creativity. And your creativity can come in like different ways. And you just need to, and one of the things, by the way, I really wanted to touch upon is the fact that um in the traditional sense of uh careers, we are taught go to school, what does you like, you know, what is written on your certificate. But then life right now and opportunities that we have right now, it's all about what your skill set is. So if you're skilled in, for example, photography, if you're skilled in videography, if you're skilled in even public speaking, that can really take you far. And even when you're working in a normal corporate um setting, still those skills is what will take you further than the people who don't have the skills. Uh so one of the things I actually wanted to talk about is the fact that a lot of people um out there, especially in the creative economy, are building brands, they are negotiating brand deals, and you're a lot like um creators and a lot of creators actually fit into that box. So, one question I want to ask is that where does this where where do Somali creators fit into that?

SPEAKER_01 9:38

Okay, for me, for me personally, what I've observed is that um the Somali creative economy is very, it's very it is on its lowest.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

And what I will say is that currently the the market capitalization of the Somali creator economy, both the diaspora, the East African market, both of them is equal around 3 million USD. That's very small. But but if you look at the active, the number of uh influencers that are active or successful, it's around 2,000 and Somali influencers. They are earning a gradual and uh repetitive kind of income model. But Ukiangalia, the other way around, Somali influencers wana wana nini. Well, like there is a potentiality of that's around 2% of the total and potential. Like our our economy has a potential of around 100,000 Somali influencers, like that's the number that we can reach as a as a as an as an economy. But the thing is for us to reach that number, we are lacking a lot of things. So one of the things we are lacking is um we don we do not support the Somali influencers, like the Somali creators. We don't support them because one thing about one beauty about the about the creative creative industry or the creator economy is that you don't need as a government or as an agency, as a as a private sector, you don't need you do not need to take huge loans for you to impact these people. You just need and you just need to bring bring together the right agency and bring together the right people and bring together the right talent for you to impact these guys. So they don't need like when you don't know. I'm talking about Somalia. You don't need to do that. But what you do you need to do is you have to inspire these people. These people want to do more, but they cannot do more because they are limited by the society. Society, you know, like there's a taboo by the way, like mmuta kiwakana influencer, like mmuta ki onakana creator, what wanna mona ah, um jamak wandered in like tried everything and then this is where they ended up. Yeah, like like when I wanna own this this economy, like when I wanna this creative industry, like Haina Do, wana wanna like a kunanga success. But there's a lot of success rate in this economy. Another thing I will tell you is I was talking about the market capitalization of uh and which is around three million right now of the Somali creator economy. But if we put the right tools and the right resources in this industry, we can reach up to a potential of three billion. The potentiality that we have as an industry and as a society and as the creators in our society, that's the potential they have. So you can imagine in six out of ten, like six out of ten Somali creators earn below hundred dollars monthly. Like that's a repetitive model, like our like you know, as an owner, and the ones that are earning beyond 500 or beyond 100 are very like they are around uh four out of uh and ten Somali creators, or that's around 40%.

SPEAKER_02 13:02

But my question is, yeah, so what is the what is the the cause of this? Is it do you think it's because because I know a lot of Somali uh creators who have so such huge following? So I know some of them who have like uh millions of followers like online, yeah, but then is it because maybe they're not um position sorry, uh is it because they're not positioning themselves as uh to earn money and for brand deals, or what what do you think the reason is?

SPEAKER_01 13:29

The thing is, first of all, first of all, you may have a million followers, but still you are confused. Yeah, you don't know like you don't know the like you know there's something that you call before you do something, you know the outcome. Yeah. Like Lazimani Joey before Nifanya Lazimani Joey, and what will I gain up from it? Yeah, yeah. But you can imagine a situation where and in our society, one thing that's killing our creators is that they just do it for fun. Yeah, they do not do it for freedom and for income. Yeah, yeah. Like one million followers, you you can imagine you can earn that uh that uh from that million followers, you can earn a steady income from that uh and follow us. But still, Unaenda wana kimbizana vituzing. Yeah. Yeah, any jiako naenda wana pelaka kuwa vituzingine, unaenda wuna fanya vituzingine dota ftepesa. But the same at the same time, income you could happen.

SPEAKER_00 14:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

Another thing you have to realize is that is that and when it comes to the creative industry, followers, followers does not matter.

SPEAKER_02 14:25

Yeah, the engagement is. But I feel like um I think what you said about the fact that like, you know, they're really they don't have an intent or they don't have a purpose for being online. I agree with that because you do see a lot of creators who have such a huge following, but then it doesn't have like um they're not they have not positioned themselves to earn, especially from online. So you know, because a lot of these brands what they just need is either awareness or they need people to see what they're doing or stuff like that, you know.

SPEAKER_01 14:55

So I think a lot of the time, um especially in our Somali community, I think we're bigger consumers than we are building wealth, especially in the in the in the online Yeah, and another thing that is really and and really impacting us, uh not I wouldn't say positively but negatively, is that there's something that you call advertisement and rules and regulations. Yeah. Most like the no the most of the big influencers I have met with, most of them do not they don't care about the regulations of the advertisement industry. Can you maybe share what some of them? Especially when it comes to sponsored ads. Because you have to, you have to uh when it comes to advertisement, they put rules and regulations there, especially when it is in when it involves an influencer. Because you see.

SPEAKER_02 15:41

What are the maybe what are the rules? Yeah, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 15:44

Yeah, I want to talk about that one. Because some of the things that or rules or the restrictions that uh advertisement board has put in place is that you have to check the age limit. Like the people you are targeting, you have to check your age their age, you have to check their agenda. Like when you are pushing that ad or when you are doing a sponsored ad, you have to check who you are who your target market is. And you have to define each bit by bit of that the characteristics of that consumer, like the characteristics bit by bit who is this person you are targeting. And if you don't follow those rules, you just uh when I when I end up on a tooper like your sponsored ad everywhere, like when I'm target killamtu. That that you know is a lead to a lot of things. So yeah, the results might yeah, yeah. You know, I end up biased an uh, you could so it's good to follow those uh those rules. Um another thing is uh I also want to talk about is uh some some of the blanders that the brands make, is that you have to define your objectives or you have to you have to list down your expectations. What do you expect? Yeah, as a brand, what do you expect?

SPEAKER_02 16:52

I think we'll get we'll get into the brand a bit later. One of the things I wanted to talk about um for us to talk about first is um like how the youth actually view like the creator economy. So one of the things I wanted um the a question that I had is why do we actually uh still treat digital careers like they're unserious? You know, a lot of the time we actually take it very unseriously, and I think that's also one of the reasons why a lot of people don't even have it, um, they don't do it the correct way, especially if you want to earn from this. Why do you think that's so?

SPEAKER_01 17:28

Yes, of course, um if you look at the most Somali influencers, as I said, and the society also plays a great great uh influence when it comes to to upbringing a creator or uh someone who is talented. So so you can imagine your society does not support you. Like where I come from, Nordistan in Garissa. People there who mutual like you want to do something. Yeah, on camera, like you are on camera. What like you are done.

SPEAKER_00 17:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:55

You have family like one answer, like uh Shida Nigani, you will be on the spotlight. So the society does not support them. That's the uh the first thing. Another thing is they do not have uh uh correct mesh, uh correct and um uh in place or tools that help them or trainings that help them like uh or or education trainings or webinars. That build the skills, yeah, that help them like like in our Nesha, Hikitu Pia is something that they can do. They don't have those uh and and and and and trainings and those awareness. They do not have those awareness. And also the market uh as as I was saying, the market, the Somali creator economy is growing. So I think that's the reason. And most of them just, like I said, most of them they don't know what they're doing there. They just come there, they do funny things there, and then they go.

SPEAKER_02 18:47

I think um one of the things maybe that we can tell the audience right now is the fact that um a good thing is that at least now the youth and really understand the the possibilities and the opportunities that we actually have online and uh what they can actually get from it. So um I think a lot of them the creators are there. I think because so many, we have so many Somali creators, and you know, like we have so many of them on TikTok, on on Instagram, on YouTube, like we even have so many YouTubers, a lot of even uh podcasters, mashallah tubarakallah. But I think a lot of the time where they actually lack is the monetization part of it. Yes, yes, yes. And uh, what one thing maybe I want to put out there is for you to be able to monetize from what you're doing, you need to have a structure in place. You know, you have you need to be able to have something that you're doing and even have numbers so that you can tell them, like you, for example, how many people are engaging, what are like you know, the future plans, even though I'm not saying that you need so many followers or so many um like you know, people who view your stuff for you to be able to monetize, but at least you need to have a structure in mind and you need to have like a place that you're going, like you know, goals for where what you're doing, and um so one thing I wanted to ask you is um what separates a hobby creator from a business-minded creator?

SPEAKER_01 20:15

Yeah, um there's something we call an business. Business, when we look at business, it's about uh solving problems. I mean it's solution-oriented, that's what you call business is all about solution-oriented. And while hobby let me also talk about uh problem solving, I mean um and problem solving also. Um when it comes to problem solving, the problem may end, but still the income may be may remain. So, what do I mean by that? So you can you can re-strategize, like uh to say me, Ukona Fanya Kitukuna Shida Fulana, Ulkona solve nayushida, still um by by coming up with new strategies strategies and new strategies that are very effective, you can strengthen that problem. I mean you can you can uh re-rearn or you can continue earning from that and and from that uh income. So from that problem, I mean so and business and uh and the hobby. Hobby is someone and that was I talked about the business, I talked about the problem, and then a hobby is someone like you can see an influencer. Most of the by the Somali, what I've seen with most of the Somali influencers is that on a mutual akuna a lot of followers. And then what they do is an account, akona million followers, let's say akuna 300, 500,000 Instagram followers, akon uh eight hundred thousand followers in TikTok, uh Facebook a couple of followers. So what they do is their main agenda is not to make any money from there.

SPEAKER_00 21:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:53

Wakutuapo, like what they do is maybe let's say even they have a business. Like we acharake. So they just do it. Like wakoapu to kufanya mamboyako. Yeah, like that that's self satisfactory. Like mimi piani, ni one canale like wacha tunifanyi and watu joy mimi piani ko. Exist yeah. Wana fanya too, like they do they do because the reason I'm saying that is is that, and I won't mention the name of a lady. There is a young lady I met with, she's a very successful. I really admire her. She's an influencer, she's very successful. Akuna Mabia Sharazake, she sells some. I think she's in fashion industry, she sells clothes. So, nime patana. But at the same time, I met with her, I sat with her because I identified her profile from Instagram and TikTok, and I really liked like Nime Sema uni influencer. Let me add her in in our in LifeX. So I talked to her, I sat with her, and Nime Mulisa, like, I wanted you to join LifeX to become like to earn from from like to earn with LifeX, yeah. We to talk here brand deals in is of it too. So what she told me is that no, I don't do that. Seriously, she told me I don't, I don't like I'm not in social media to do those stuff, yeah, brand deals and those stuff.

SPEAKER_02 23:07

I think which is also okay, uh, because not everybody is there to earn, yeah, and that's okay too. But um what we just want to see is like for people who actually do want to earn from social media, how can they structure their creative, like you know, um their creativity, especially online, so that they can monetize it?

SPEAKER_01 23:27

Yeah, of course, the first thing you have to do is that uh and you have to ident like I said, you have to identify niche. Like tafuta kitweenzafanya, uh telly, like you can do it.

SPEAKER_02 23:40

One place that you enjoy, yeah. Whether it's food, whether it's fashion, yeah, whether it's um like even for the for the men, like you know, so uh maybe I one thing it uh that I don't really see a lot of actually, or maybe they exist, and maybe it's not something that I see often. It's a lot of like male Somali creators.

SPEAKER_01 23:58

Male Somali creators, by the way, that's uh even me, for me personally, I I have not seen a lot of them. But but most of them they are concentrated in the car dealership industry. Car dealership, they are there. I have I have a lot of them I know there. And they are also in the real estate industry. I've also seen real estate industry, yeah. But uh the reason they are not that much flashy and visible is that uh normally they don't they don't do they don't like what they do is um they do not do this uh the beauty and this cosmetic are the most and fashion are the most visible uh and industries when it comes to influencer marketing. So real estate autawan can work in that field. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So mostly of that.

SPEAKER_02 24:44

At least that's great to hear that.

SPEAKER_01 24:46

Also, what I was saying is that and you identify your niche and then and then you identify the type of influencer you are. Like you, it is it is it is must because uh nowadays, nowadays, as early as having a thousand followers, you can start earning. There are a lot of tools you can use to start earning, and now once you janga maesha. It's not like Tambo. Some time back and uh before COVID, what used to happen is that creators used to struggle. Like the we didn't have a lot of monetization tools. Zilianza kukuja 2018-2019. So, how kwangana iso you can imagine the frustration you wait for a phone call or an email from a brand. But nowadays, kill a kitu mekwara easi from the comfort of your home, as you start the dream of being a creator, you can you can start as early as that dream that dream of yours is starting.

SPEAKER_02 25:43

So, how early can you start monetizing?

SPEAKER_01 25:45

You can start monetizing monetizing as early as uh as early as having 1,000 followers. That means that minimum threshold. If you have reached that minimum threshold, for us we work with 1,000 followers and above.

SPEAKER_02 25:57

So, how can uh give you give me maybe an example of how somebody can earn with a thousand followers?

SPEAKER_01 26:04

Yeah, the thing is for you for if you have a thousand followers, you are called a nano influencer. A nano influencer is someone who has between 1,000 followers to 10,000 followers. You see? So, one thing that are known for nano influencers is trust and authenticity. These people you see, these nano influencers are people you meet with every day. Yeah and these people, when it comes to being passionate about a brand product, they are very passionate. They love like they love collaborating with brands and they love working with brands. The reason I normally say instead of going for these big influencers, celebrity status, go for these small, small ones because you can imagine they will put their heart into it. Yeah, they will they are passionate about what you do, and they will repeatedly repetitively do for bring for you clients because they don't care about what you are paying them. What they care about is your existence. But these big influencers, like they're you have to pass agencies, you have to do a lot of stuff, and mostly 90% of these big influencers, they do not allow and you they do not allow you to see the analytics of your campaigns.

SPEAKER_02 27:10

So like why are you doing that if if you analytics are like one of the most important things because how would I know what you've done and the results of the work that you've done if you don't?

SPEAKER_01 27:20

Yeah, that's very painful because because Sazingina when I was a semi, uh Cupia, and and they have the right, and they like that's how big they are. But you it's not must you go for them.

SPEAKER_02 27:30

Yeah, you go do you do you think that is um uh more of so like uh because of like oh I cannot be told anything? Or is it just because of like um like the mindset? Maybe they just don't want to be out there.

SPEAKER_01 27:44

The thing is they are the and is it kiber? Yeah, not kiber. Yeah, the thing is I already tell you it's about celebrity status. There's once once you reach certain level, you don't care. Okay, yeah. You don't you don't care, like you know they need you. When I join a kuitaji, that's why you don't care. Like wakuje, ama o si kuje. Yeah, that's that's one of the biggest uh challenges, those big influencers have.

SPEAKER_02 28:06

So another question I had is um we talked about um how you can start earning and monetizing your creativity from as low as a thousand followers. So, can you give us examples on different ways somebody can actually earn income as a creator?

SPEAKER_01 28:23

Yeah, different ways. And the first one is brand deals, of course. And let me just talk about what we do for the creators so that it can be much easier. The first one is for you to earn for you to earn as a creator, the first one is brand deals, brand collaborations or brand partnership, those three and um terms are correct. The second one is um brand ambassador. Bingaba, you can be an ambassador to a brand. That's another way you can earn usan. And for instead of collaborating one time, you can be the brand ambassador. And the list you have to be a brand ambassador is six months. Okay. Yeah. That's you have to know that. And as a brand ambassador, you cannot work with any other uh brand similar to that same brand. Yeah. Or even you can sign, even they can even bring for you another clause that says you cannot even, you can no longer continue as an influencer. You'll just work for us until our uh contract issue.

SPEAKER_02 29:18

Guys, did you just hear that? Make sure you read those contracts. Yeah, so easy.

SPEAKER_01 29:25

Oh my goodness. So another thing is and another thing we help uh with the creators is that there is one promise the the our leaders have taken, our politicians have taken, and that is job creation. So there's this product we have introduced in uh we have introduced to LifeX last year. It's called uh LifeX for Politicians. Normally you can also collaborate with politicians in a way that it's it's very minimal, it's not that uh it's not in a tribal tribalist way, or it's not in a way that it is like you are not promoting, yeah, you are not promoting the leader, but the leader is using your influence to it's you using your influence to create for you a job, and in that essence you will earn income. So that's called uh Life Ex for Politicians. You can also collaborate with politicians, you can partner with politicians, and you can also be an ambassador to a politician. You can talk about what they do, what they do, but you have to be really deep in that uh that roots. Like you have to believe in that guy for you to be an ambassador of them. So that's that's some of the ways you can earn with uh as a as a as an influencer. And then another thing is um you have to be on the watch out, you have to be because sometimes uh brands may not reach to you directly, they may send you some agents, some uh some do stuff. Yeah, so you have to be careful about that, you have to be very welcoming in case of in case anyone's anyone talks to you, akwambeekunaimambo, naimambo, just listen to them and maybe zapata deal sapo.

SPEAKER_00 30:57

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:58

I know I agree. Um always being open-minded to affinities is the is is really a great way to earn. But also like being very wary and you know, like reading contracts very well and making sure that maybe even if you have like a person or a lawyer that you can take those things with, I think that would be incredible as well. One of the things I actually wanted maybe to give tips on people who are creators out there is the fact that as long as you know you have some sort of influence or eng you you have a pretty good engagement to your community, have a rate card. You know, have a rate card, have a way, have a proper email that people can send it to you. Just you know, like just position yourself in a very professional way. Um, even though you're on TikTok and you're on Instagram, doesn't mean that like like you do things key v. You know what I mean? You can still be professional, you can still have like a proper email, you can have uh um like you know, because those are the structures that we're talking about before, right?

SPEAKER_01 31:58

Um one thing I will add another thing, yeah, and one important uh aspect of uh of getting a brand deal is that you have to be as an influencer, you have to be very authentic. You have to be very different from any other person. Yeah. Fanya mamboyaka inafakwa wanafanya pekeako. Yeah, yeah. You have to be authentic, you know, original, and you have to be trustworthy by your audience.

SPEAKER_02 32:22

Actually, that's one of the things. Uh the next question that I wanted to ask is that um what do brands actually look for that creators maybe a lot of creators don't really understand?

SPEAKER_01 32:32

One thing brands look for is um one thing brands love is what you call competition. Like brands normally check and influencers who have already done what they want, what what they ought to be done for. Like to say me, to say me leo ukana hoteliako. So profile influencer nawana alukana and afanya and and he was doing some endorsement or collaboration with other hotels. So you'll be like, oh, this guy, Mamboyaki Kosa. That's why from the word go I started with niche. Niche is one of the biggest factors for uh for you to become a successful and influencer.

SPEAKER_02 33:11

So in other words, what you're just trying to say is if you're, for example, very passionate about real estate, yeah, and those are the things that you actually really love, so portray uh uh portray that much, much more on your on your accounts so that now real estate companies can actually come to you and be like, they already do what I want them to do. Yeah, yeah. So it'll just be easier for them to connect to you. Stello, for example, you are in the fashion industry, and that's actually like that's the portfolio you're putting. Because you know, like sometimes people don't understand that what you actually post online is your portfolio. Yes, yes, yes. It is what you've done, it is with the experiences that you have had, or it's the it's the skill set that you have, and those are the that's the portfolio that you show people. So if for example, you've showed people that I am a great photographer, and maybe taking photos or um you know, like uh or for example, birds is what I like. Obviously, a hotel looking for them to uh photograph their food and not going to come approach you. You know, maybe the wildlife, maybe the tourism, uh the people who will come approach you, right? So if you actually want to do uh if you want to get into a space of, for example, fashion, and that's that's the industry that you want to get into, then make videos about that. Show people like you know, um the different ways you can you can show um like you know in fashion, even though I'm not a fashion person that much, but I think you guys understand the just another way you can do it is that and you can do fruits free stuffs for the brands, like if you think he could especially if you're a young creator, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:44

You can just go and start advertising the house for these guys because that's what you want to do. Yeah, yeah, go and do do it for free. No one will even realize that.

SPEAKER_02 34:52

But also, I think uh uh what people don't really understand uh when we say for free is like we're not trying to say that you're not worth the money. That's not that's not the case. But the case is that um when you actually sometimes when because you know you need as I said, you need a portfolio so for you to actually show what you can do, and it will also also show you that um it will also be practice for you to actually do those things and then later on so that you can start making money of the same. So you do, for example, two, three people if you do them for uh for free, or you take videos, and it will actually give you the opportunity so that next time bigger brands will actually see what you've done for this uh type of people and then they will approach you for that, right?

SPEAKER_01 35:34

100% yes.

SPEAKER_02 35:36

Uh another thing I wanted to ask is um um we I think we've talked a little bit about LifeX. So maybe if you can uh tell us exactly what LifeX is and what what they do for the creators.

SPEAKER_01 35:50

Yes, um no, sorry.

SPEAKER_02 35:53

Before we actually get into that, can you just tell us what LifeEx is and how you started?

SPEAKER_01 35:57

Yeah, and uh LifeX Africa is an influencer marketing company uh that connects uh let me just say platform that connects uh Somali and creators to both brands and uh and politicians. LifeX Life X meanza it was a dream because because the reason I'm saying that is uh the reason I'm saying that and back in campus, I used to have a friend of mine who used to have an around, I think around 100,000, 150,000 followers. So the guy used to be he just used to be there, alukwanga and a chukwanga ma picture mzuri mzuri and aweka kwa Instagram yake, TikTok yake. So the guy had huge followings. But come to think of it, like a mambia, nili mulliza, what do you do with your like and this huge number of followers? Usha if kiria kum monetize this this thing. Because uh I was passionate because I'm an amount um I'm a marketer and I'm also passionate about influencer marketing. So that's why Nika Muliza, like mbona ikitu, like um if kiriya kumonetez. Yeah. So that's how it started. Like even though Nikanza Sasaka is like sasa niktanza compatior tips, like uh Pierre. I started doing my research and then I really fell in love with uh the way influencers are doing, the impact they are they have on the community. Um and what they do for the community is really great because our voices can change a lot of people. Our voices can change communities, yeah. So that's why I I liked and and this this uh I that's why I started LifeX Africa.

SPEAKER_02 37:30

So when did you start LiveX?

SPEAKER_01 37:32

LifeX I started in 2024.

SPEAKER_02 37:35

So what does LifeX do?

SPEAKER_01 37:37

As I said, LifeX it connects um we have a small software, I wouldn't say we are that much big, but we have a small software that uh allows brands to create campaigns and also allows politicians to create campaigns. In that instance, they can they we can we push their campaigns to different influencers depending on the on the on the needs of the brands. So an influencer also they have their own accounts with us, their own dashboard accounts with us. So Piawanawiza owner campaigns, brand campaigns and politician campaigns in their portal. So when I okay, and if it matches what you do, you can take the campaign. Yeah, and then you can take the campaign, you do the work, and then you you finish it, and then you pay you get paid within three to seven days. That's the number of days we pay our curators.

SPEAKER_02 38:31

Oh, within that short of a time?

SPEAKER_01 38:32

Yeah, within that short of time, that's that's the number of days we pay.

SPEAKER_02 38:36

So um is there any advice that you could give maybe young creators on how they can shift their mindset and how to put themselves in positions where they can earn online?

SPEAKER_01 38:49

Yeah, as I said, kill a kituni mindset. It is either you start as a as as a job, like job application, you apply to a job and then you get the job, and then you start small there, you start 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, whichever and the offer is, and then you go up in the in the in the ladder. And also you can start small as a business. Una is an answer. I started life with zero money. Seriously.

SPEAKER_02 39:21

So you how did uh how did that work out?

SPEAKER_01 39:24

Uh for me, I'm a great, I'm a great uh designer. I like I'm a great and I do some artwork also. I know how to how to do and and and and and how to brand. I'm also a good brand. I mean branding. I know branding, I know I'm a marketer. So I just started with what I had. I started with I have I have a I had a laptop, so and also back then I was in campus, so I didn't have that uh money to invest in.

SPEAKER_02 39:49

So how many influencers did you start with?

SPEAKER_01 39:51

Um seriously, I just started with my friends, first of all. Like I started with my friends who had um I just went and approached my friends because I had this perspective or this uh concept. As long as you have a thousand followers, you are a creator, you are qualified to be called an influencer. And you are nano influencer basically. So I just went to my friends, I started telling them I have this system, register your yourself and link your social media, social media accounts in our in our in our system, and then you can start earning. So start small, and then as you go bigger, maybe you may like you may like our model. So that's how I started, and then I started meeting with big influencers. I started explaining to them our perspective, our concept of how we can help them. And they really, most of them, like 99% of the personally, the influencers I met with, they really liked our concept.

SPEAKER_02 40:43

I like that. And now, how many, how many, how many influencers do you have on Laplace?

SPEAKER_01 40:48

Yeah, we have over over a thousand influencers right now. Most of them are nano and micro influencers. So, and when it comes to big influencers, they are not that much, but we are still in the process of.

SPEAKER_02 41:00

And there's a time you told me that you train influencers. How does that work?

SPEAKER_01 41:03

Sorry for that, huh?

SPEAKER_02 41:04

How do how does it work? Uh, because there's a time you told me that you also train people to be creators.

SPEAKER_01 41:11

Yeah. And we do train influencers to be better creators because we normally bring bring or bring together training sessions and workshops where we talk about the the ways they can earn money, the ways they can start small, and where they are, they can they can uh they can identify what whichever industry they want to work with, and then once they tour, and then they can they can go into the deep uh deep um industry. I mean they can go into the deep.

SPEAKER_02 41:40

So one last question that I wanted to ask is yeah um for the creators that you already work with on LifeX, maybe don't mention the name, but what is the higher who is the like what is the highest earning potential for a creator? Yeah. Maybe you can give an example of one creator that you have on LifeX.

SPEAKER_01 41:57

Yeah, and for Atlifex, I will just uh give you a scenario. At LifeX, um there are some influencers or some creators that we normally dictate their income. If you have less than uh 50,000 followers, we have to dictate your uh your earnings. Because you can imagine you can imagine your influence is not that much big, and you are a micro and uh a nano.

SPEAKER_02 42:23

Can you give us numbers?

SPEAKER_01 42:25

Uh numbers, I mean they can earn between$50 to and roughly I can say and let me just say roughly$25 onwards, the list we pay influences.

SPEAKER_02 42:34

Is that to per brand or is it per month?

SPEAKER_01 42:37

And per brand per brand. Okay. Per month, per month, I will tell you it's a different stuff. So if you are a nano and a micro influencer, we dictate your income. And if you surpass the the hundred thousand mark, or you are a macro and a mega influencer, normally we allow them to come to come with their rates, depending on what they have done, the industry they work with, and their experience and the number of years they have been in the industry. So you can't we can't normally say a mega influencer answering.

SPEAKER_02 43:06

So for a nano influencer, for example, how much do you think the potential is for them to earn monthly?

SPEAKER_01 43:12

The potential yes. The like the how much they can earn in a month. They can earn up to hundred thousand. Yeah, monthly, yeah, yeah. If they can be on the lookouts, they can they can be collabor they they collabor they will be collaborating with brands uh instant, I mean frequently, they can earn a good amount of money every time.

SPEAKER_02 43:29

And that is somebody who who has as low as a thousand followers, yeah. That's incredible. Yeah. Okay, I think um we'll we are at the end of it. Um if there is anything you would like to mention and if there's any advice that you would like to give our young creators out there.

SPEAKER_01 43:45

Yeah, and uh not only a young creators, but uh but one thing I have identified is that you we started with it is unemployment. It really pains me because Nami Peter, you maesha unemployment, you may share a job uh very It's very painful. So and one thing I have I have really like really like in anukwasanga. I even go to UNIS to talk to students is that and forty percent, uh no no, even forty five percent of college graduates, uh to know we lose them. Either in depression, drugs, in in in joblessness, to no lose our majama. Like some uh like I muse, ukuna mjuwa ten years ago, after ten years unamuna mekufa, you don't know where they are. And these guys are very sharp. These guys are very intellectual. So what's one thing I will say is that the society should stop and and being hostile to intellectuals. Like they should treat them very well. Like to mefika mali and to kionamse kupigana naya. Like to nawana to any like tuna to n f to nam fikisha kuakona m pakatun anajonae mun nyanim jinga.

SPEAKER_02 44:49

The pressure can be other.

SPEAKER_01 44:50

Yeah, the pressure is too much. So now is that one thing I can say is that the society should take care of the intellectuals. Because the internet, the internet we are enjoying society, like intellectuals in the meturate. Where will, for example, where we say Ile ukata 100 million, 100 million, the first thing you do is uh obviously take it back to my community. Let me just tell you a scenario. And if you get 100 million right now, nawe nayo Pesa, the first thing utafanya ni to see me auna gari, awuna nyumba, auna kitiote, awuna mbele awana nyuma. The first thing utafanya ni uta nuwa gari. You gari nana metengneza. It is intellectual mechanics, mechanical engineers, those guys are intellectuals. Ukununa yogari ten outasema, ah, naitaji nyumba. Una no nyumba. Nina metengneze yunumba. I mean nani atangese yunumba. Utah, utaitaji severe, utaitaji artiche, utaitaji engineer. So we should not be fools. Like to see to see you to see any backwardness, to me shato kaapo. So uki wona intellectual, unawizam sa idea, kuna malioto, unaizam sidea, una isam advised, one isam connect to opportunity, just connect to them. Usu anze ku anze ku ku like you start competing with them. Because the reason akwambe evoni most of the people who who like look down on them are the people when you wame pata pesa, when you mme pata persona instantly, sasa wananza ku kujona, like wananza ku to siya wajamaya trying, yeah. Yeah. So let us be very and very let us not be hostile to them. Let us take care of those intellectuals. We need them to nawa itaju. Because what example are we showing to the when you say? So to kwe to kwe like uh good to them. So another thing I will say is that life can be sometimes very challenging. It can be very painful. Mayja iniza koina is a kwa malingine, how could expect? But one thing that you should not lose is the human touch, that's kindness. Just be kind to the people naapu maisha ako it's incredible.

SPEAKER_02 46:59

Uh, there's one question like I that just came to mind that I forgot to ask before. How can uh how can a creator or an influencer or an influencer to be signed up for livex?

SPEAKER_01 47:09

Yeah, we you can visit our website, you can follow us on uh we are in we are on Instagram and and Facebook and LinkedIn. You can follow us there, LiveX Africa. You can also just uh Google us LiveX Africa and then you can just go and sign up as a creator. So now onze ko, my sha kuanzia kumzuri. I hope so, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:28

That is incredible. Thank you so much. Honestly, uh what you said at the last is that um which is very, very important, is just uh to pass kindness, not judge people, especially um the fact that a lot of um the young creators are being judged online for actually putting themselves out there. So if you are a creator out there, don't worry about what people say. If you know what you're doing is for the right reason, then go ahead and do so. I would just one tip I would add is that I think which I have repeated um uh ever so often is the fact that just structure yourself, uh build yourself, get mentors, ask questions, you know, like uh seek the help of LiveX if that's what you need. And inshallah, may Allah put barakah in whatever you're trying to do. Right? All right, thank you so much guys for listening. If you have any question, please go ahead and uh ask in the comment section. If you have any um questions for Amin, do ahead, go ahead and do so as well. Uh, please make sure you follow their the pages online, LifeX, and Amin Abdi as well. I think I'm sure you'll find them finding on LiveX as well. And make sure you follow us and you follow our Instagram pages, Cultured Voices Podcast, and make sure you go and subscribe for our YouTube channel as well. And if you're listening to the to the audio version of this, make sure you follow right. And inshallah, thank you so much for being here until the end. Until next time, as salam alaikum.