Twenty years ago, with limited internet penetration and the absence of smartphones, ‘website and app content publishers’ were not really a thing, as radio served as the primary source for near-real-time information in Africa. Television, on the other hand, was limited to specific news hours, offering brief coverage of major events rather than in-depth reporting. Newspaper culture, however, was still a thing, and people waited till the following day to read the in-depth news on major events.
While it was the norm then, this approach was far from optimal. Africans in the diaspora primarily relied on tidbits of news shared by friends and family back home. Due to the limited digital presence of African media outlets, they had little to no means of keeping up with real-time news from their home countries.
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Today, the landscape has completely transformed. Countless African websites and apps have emerged across the internet, encompassing major news outlets as well as individual ventures. With deeper internet penetration and widespread smartphone usage, the primary challenge shifted from accessing the web to gaining visibility for one’s content. Anyone can establish a website or app and potentially reach hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people worldwide.
However, the current hurdle lies in effectively monetizing these platforms. While digital advertising in Africa is projected to reach just over $4million this year according to statista.com, many website and app publishers still struggle to monetize their content. Those who do manage to monetize often receive only a fraction of the revenue generated by their advertising partners.
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Two key reasons contribute to this disparity:
1. Limited or ineffective media representation in Africa hinders advertisers and media agencies from effectively supporting premium publishers in monetizing their unique content. This obstacle prevents such publishers from reaching and profiting from millions of local and global viewers
2. Consequently, the African market is often overlooked, leading to missed opportunities for monetization and growth.
A transformative change is underway with Atunwa Digital leading the way in monetizing African digital content (live streams, podcasts, website, apps, etc). Publishers now have access to Atunwa’s portfolio of local and multinational brands, allowing for improved monetization opportunities to reach the global African demographic. With Atunwa, content publishers gain transparency, being able to track their earnings and their sources.
In today’s landscape, merely owning a website or app that disseminates information or performs certain functions is insufficient. The key lies in publishers’ ability to effectively monetize their unique content, which determines their short-term relevance and long-term sustainability.
