NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 18 — Kenyans will begin monetising their content on Facebook and Instagram by June.
This makes Kenya one of the few countries in the continent enjoying the feature.
The move was announced by the Facebook President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, at a meeting with President William Ruto at State House Nairobi on Monday.
The announcement is a culmination of a year-long push by the government to have creators earn for their online content.
“Kenyan content creators who meet the eligibility criteria, will now earn from their Facebook and Instagram spaces as we start monetization by June this year,” Mr Nick said.
President Ruto praised the partnership between Kenya and global digital platforms on the monetisation of content.
” Now content creators can begin earning from their imagination and creativity. I have kept my word to negotiate and get them fresh opportunities,”
“Our partnership between Kenya, Meta and Facebook are geared towards expanding opportunities for the youth. We are progressing our consultations to explore more opportunities for the youth through content creation,” he said.
He added:”We are banking on the digital space to create jobs for the millions of jobless youths in our country.”
Creative economy my priority: Ruto
The Head of State noted that establishment of a robust creative economy remains the government’s priority in line with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
He said it was through partnership with global digital platforms that youths can have the opportunity to exploit their talents.
President Ruto welcomed plans to have monetization available on M-Pesa.
“I am happy that Meta team has already carried out an experiment to have monetisation on M-Pesa. The experiment showed that it works. This will enable creators make use of the opportunity,” said President Ruto.
He said the government was reworking on a legislation to make it easier for foreigners to work with the locals especially on digital platforms.
He emphasized on the need for the global digital platforms to have content that cannot be abused.
Clegg said the creative industry has created many job opportunities for the youth.
He urged Kenyans to take advantage of the move to monetise Facebook to earn more money to improve their lives.
Clegg added that Facebook was keen to work with Kenya to invest in people so that they can know how to use monetization tools for their benefit.
ICT Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo said his ministry will ensure a conducive environment for creative content to prosper in the country.
