Inside Plan To Pay Kenyan Podcasters By December

Kenyan podcast creators could be smiling to the bank by the end of this year if a plan to pay them for their work is realised.

Afripods Africa on Friday, September 30 announced that it will be paying Kenyan creators hosted on its platform by the end of 2022. The announcement was made by Afripods CEO Molly Jensen during an exclusive interview on Trace FM to mark World Podcasting Day.

The interview was hosted by Calvin Wanguku, a renowned podcaster and radio presenter who also played host to podcasting queen Adelle Onyango and Kevin Y Brown who is also a podcaster and the chief content officer and strategy at Afripods.

Afripods CEO Molly Jensen with Adelle Onyango and Kevin Y Brown. /COURTESY

International Podcast Day is an international celebration of the power of podcasts. The celebration is a great opportunity to connect with fellow podcasters, podcast listeners, podcast enthusiasts, and leaders in the podcasting industry. 

“I think it is a day that we can pause and reflect first on the work that we have all put in as African podcasters and also speak to the gaps in the industry and how we can fill them but overall it is to celebrate that we have come a long way,” said Legally Clueless podcaster Adelle Onyango. 

Founded in 2017, Afripods gives listeners a platform to listen to their favourite podcasts, new voices and great stories produced by Africans, and people interested in Africa, as a truly emerging digital market wherever they are.

Though the podcasting industry has existed for over two decades now, podcasting gained traction only about 6 years ago as more and more podcasting platforms came up. Listenership across Africa has also grown.

According to insider intelligence, there will be over 144 million monthly podcast listeners by the end of 2025. Among adult podcast listeners, time spent with podcasts in 2022 will increase by 16.1 per cent Year to Year to a little more than 23 minutes per day.

“Our goal is to make sure African creators can take up as much space as possible and that they get paid for their genius. We have an amazing team that helps us to grow the podcasting industry in Africa and make sure we give people voices and preserve our culture and language so that future generations can have an authentic African experience," said Kevin Y Brown.

Speaking on capturing value for content creators, The Mics Are Open podcaster and Good Morning Trace show host, Calvin Wanguku said that it was five months before they could monetize the podcast and even though they did not start it with the aim to make money, it was good to capture that value.

“I got my first paycheck on legally clueless at episode 42 or 52, this means I worked 52 weeks before I could earn from podcasting,” said Adelle adding that she had to figure out where advertisers would sit on her podcast, how they would get value and how she ensured that it doesn’t change the listening experience for her listeners.

“Ultimately when we are talking about making money, right now there aren’t many platforms paying African content creators. So, it is a problem that Afripods has an opportunity to solve. So, Afripods will be paying Kenyan Content creators before the end of the year”, announced Jensen.

She added that this is the best time for African creators to embrace podcasting and digital audio content because now they can capture their value through monetary gains.

More than 475 million people are actively listening to podcasts around the world, according to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report conducted in 2018-2019. The African continent is home to an incredible array of talented individuals who are sharing their unique creativity, storytelling, and sounds with the world through social media and podcasts.

South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya are listed among the largest podcasting markets in Africa.

A phone logged in to a Spotify app. /FILE