ALTERNATIVE MONEY
YOUTUBE CHING
CHING
By Joan Kabugu
T
he world is shifting a tide at
a time, and Africa is slowly
adapting the new and letting
go of the old. With the advent of
technology, digital media platforms
have been embraced in Africa’s
deepest soils.
Cable TV can be found deep in
the central ridges near Mt. Kenya.
‘‘Entertainment
which is the oldest of
industries has seen a
complete overhaul.
There’s an extremely
high uptake of web
series online in Africa
and beyond. A good
number of these
series are of stellar
production quality
and give regular TV
broadcasters a run for
their money.’’
86 MAL 11/16 ISSUE
The World Wide Web has become
a monster in the best of ways and
accessing internet in North Eastern
Kenya is not a feat, we have slowly
evolved from 2G to 4G internet.
The advent of YouTube creates
great accessibility where content
production is concerned. It’s a
platform that offers a direct link to
audiences. On YouTube a few wise
men and women are deliberate about
it and have money on their minds.
For them it’s a well thought out
strategy.
Yet others wake up, rub their eyes
and post something very random.
Like voodoo it becomes an instant
hit, goes viral and hey presto they
stumble upon easy money.
Entertainment which is the oldest
of industries has seen a complete
overhaul. There’s an extremely high
uptake of web series online in Africa
and beyond. A good number of these
series are of stellar production quality
and give regular TV broadcasters a
run for their money.
Ndani TV from Nigeria has been
consistent and effective and has
launched a bouquet of TV series
that are viewed all over the world
on YouTube. Ndani TV has a
very interesting model in that it’s
partnered with GT bank and to date
has developed seven original web
series. Some of the most popular
ones include Gidi Up, Skinny Girl
in Transit, One chance, Officer Titus
among many more.
An African City another iconic
web series and considered by many
as the African equivalent of Sex
and the City TV show that created
waves a few years back. For An
African City the story revolves
around five Nigerian and Ghanian
women who have returned home
from the Diaspora and share their
new experiences in love, life and
relationships.
This series went viral upon release
and the YouTube channel is ranked
one of the highest watched in Ghana.
So far the story has evolved over
seasons and the youtube audience
wants more.
Internationally YouTube creatives
such as Issa Rae have used this free
platform to gain access to major cable
networks. Issa, having started a web
series, Misadventures of Awkward
Black Girl in 2011, in 2016 she
was named by Forbes as one of the