Introduction to the database: Financial Services for Creators
The startups competing for creators wallets.
Welcome back!
Let’s talk about the creators economy and the startups making it easy to get paid, managing their businesses. I dare say ‘getting paid’ is the top-most reason being a creator is fun to do. No data to back that last statement.
The creators economy is here to stay; ask TikTok. The company is rolling out a new“TikTok Creator Marketplace API,” which allows marketing companies to integrate more directly with TikTok’s Creator Marketplace, the video app’s in-house influencer marketing platform.
That’s the shiny part. Because business has to be managed - like payment, tax and invoicing.
In our recent dive into explaining the Africa creators economy, we talked about the growth possibility (or phenomenon if you like). It generated lots of interest from readers. You should read It. We talked about them getting paid but didn’t give a lot of noise to the startups making the business of being a creator a real business.
Remember, when Jay-Z said ‘i’m a business, man!’? All creators should be a business.
Today we dabble into that subsector that’s a bit less glamorous—but just as important. They are the backend. Doing the not so entertaining work. They’re the ones filling the blank spaces in the creators economy. These startups are developing software that manages the back-end tasks of a creators’ business, from tracking earnings on Selar to handling taxes through Keeper Tax.
“Media innovation leads to economic shift: essentially we invent the technology and then we reinvent ourselves to suit that technology,” Saffo says. (Paul Saffo, Technology Forecaster: Stanford MediaX and MD, Foresight, Discern)
In Africa, this is a very nascent industry in its infancy.
NB: We are creating a creators database here. (coming soon!)
Why the database? That’s how we’ll know the estimated funds raised by these guys in 2021 to the future.
This is a reminder that ‘fintech is still king’.
Selar, founded by Douglas Kendyson, a Lagos-based startup offering an all-in-one platform - Ecommerce store builder, for creators to sell any kind of product or service, announced that they’ve Over $1,000,000 to African Creators In 2021 and 60,000 Users.
Fidia, founded by Ajibola, Ogunsola and Bello, enables creators to receive payments, sell digital products and accept membership subscriptions from their audience.
Shukran, a platform that gets you earnings from people who enjoy your creative work regardless of your audience size or algorithm.
Fawaterk, Providing small online merchants with an invoicing system that collects money from customers online
This is an ongoing listing.
What next…
Two things…we’re working on a report for the creators economy in Africa and compiling accessible data of all startups and their subsectors powering the creators economy.
Meanwhile, LinkedIn is ending its stories video just two months after Twitter did the same with Fleet.
On the other hand, September 4th is worked beard day. What should we do? Grow more beards!
What We’re Reading and Watching
Some Nigerian-based Experts Warn of China's Growing Influence in African Technology (VOAnews)
“Angel investing is more than just writing a cheque” — Biola Alabi, Nollywood producer (Techpoint)
5 Reasons Why 70% of Digital Transformation Journeys Fail (itnewsafrica)
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About Edition
Everything you need to know about the booming Africa tech and creator economy, from the platforms to the people to the deals. Start reading for free.
About Omamuzo Samson
Omamuzo Samson is a writer at The Edition writing about the tech and creator economy. He also works as a Product Marketer at Curacel. Based in Lagos, he can be reached at omamuzo@thespicenetwork.com or on LinkedIn at omamuzo-samson.
Image: musically