Why 95% of African creators still wait for investors to call

Africa’s creator economy is booming, projected to swell to $17.84 billion by 2030. Yet, the overwhelming majority of its talented creators are being completely ignored by big institutional investors. A new report shows that only a tiny fraction, just 4.2 percent, have actually secured that kind of major, formal funding, leaving 95 percent still waiting for real investors.

Why the massive disconnect?

According to the ‘Africa Creator Economy Report 2.0’, published by Communiqué and TM Global, the biggest hurdles are basic: most creators simply don’t have the formal business structure investors are looking for, and they struggle to even get in front of the right capital. The report, which surveyed creators primarily from powerhouse markets like Nigeria and South Africa, paints a clear picture: for many, content creation is still a side hustle, not a scaled enterprise

Platform usage in the sample shows 77 percent list Instagram as primary platform, 56 percent TikTok, and 42 percent YouTube, with 76 percent using multiple platforms to gain revenue.

The money problem is real. Over half of the respondents have never received outside funding, and a massive 60 percent aren’t even hunting for it, mostly because they feel shut out from investors. When they do get cash, it comes from informal sources, underscoring the informal nature of the ecosystem. However, 79 percent identify government grants and awards as accessible sources of financing.

No structure, no investor

The report argues that many creators lack the structures investors seek, such as business clarity and scale potential. About 40 percent consider their creative work a part-time job, while 71 percent say business strategy and management skills are essential for attracting investments. Another 40 percent view business skills training as key to their sustainability.

This informal, family-and-friends-based funding system is exactly what holds the ecosystem back. At the African Creators Summit’s Business Day panel in Lagos, Marie Lora-Mungai asked why creators with millions of subscribers rarely attract institutional investors. She noted that even knowledgeable audiences in the creative economy often struggle to understand the gap between large followings and investability.

Walter Badoo of 4DX Ventures replied that a creator is fundamentally a talent layer, not a business. “Where it becomes a business is when you wrap in things like IP, systems, infrastructure, in a way that allows you to repeatedly create, deliver, and capture value,” he said. He pointed to lumpy revenues as a major risk, since income lacks durability and leads investors to apply discounts. Additional barriers include key-man risk, unclear intellectual property rights and management structures, and the frequent absence of world-class teams, systems, processes, and governance needed to reach scale.

David I. Adeleke, founder and CEO of Communiqué, writes in the report’s message that the creator economy in Africa remains in early stages, with creators bootstrapping through systems that undervalue them. Investors, he notes, struggle with an ecosystem that is culturally rich but commercially ambiguous.

The report poses a question of whether the creator boom is romanticised or is building real economic viability. It suggests creators need to shift from hobbyists to entrepreneurs, formalising operations to appeal to capital.

Interviews in the report illustrate these challenges. Ayodele Renner, a Nigerian paediatrician and content creator, discusses institutional funding. He says it suits creators focused on social impact, like health education, but comes with oversight that can limit creativity. “Institutions can dictate what they want you to create, so the creative license becomes limited,” He explains.

Renner has built ventures like Agnosis Care on Demand, a health-tech company for home vaccinations, and The Baby Convention, a parenting event. His creator career provided visibility and community, aiding these launches. However, he notes that content alone is not sustainable without diversification into books, courses, and consulting.

Read also: How Samuel Lasisi is building Conectr to fix what’s broken in Africa’s creator economy

In Nigeria, where the survey is most represented, creators like Renner highlight potential. The report’s key findings show 55.8 percent have fewer than 10,000 followers, and six in ten earn less than $100 monthly. Yet, top earners rely on product sales at 29 percent, brand sponsorships at 28 percent, and platform payouts at 11 percent.

Fanuel Masamaki, a Tanzanian comedian known for football content, says creators there face financial limits. “It is all about finances; sometimes the creativity is limited due to the resources we have,” he states. He has considered institutional funding but found no ready institutions. He suggests monetary support for logistics, links to campaigns, and production equipment.

Masamaki believes Tanzanian creators are investment-ready, citing improved content quality despite language barriers. The Swahili-speaking community offers a large market, he adds.

Read also:Facebook to showcase creator tools at Pan-African summit

The report ties investability to growth stages, stating that micro-creators need education and mentorship; mid-tier require financial literacy and contracts; top-tier seek capital to expand.

In the conclusion, the report calls for stakeholders to support transitions. Experts like Marie say creators must build financial discipline; investors adopt frameworks, seeing them as enterprises, while policymakers enable policies for jobs and IP.

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