TL;DR: We are thrilled to share with you our latest sector scan on the Digital Creative Industry.

At the Jobtech Alliance, we believe that the platforms of the future won’t just connect people to jobs—they’ll empower them to build sustainable, independent careers. This is especially true for Africa’s exploding digital creative industry, a buzzy sector which has garnered tremendous global attention. The sector is already profoundly reshaping how creative work is produced, distributed, and monetised. 

Our sector scan dives into the types of platforms, and the mechanics of what makes digital creative platforms viable and scalable. We’ve mapped, interviewed, and evaluated over 60 platforms across five key markets—Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Senegal, and Uganda—to understand how they are shaping job creation in the creative economy. We go beyond market hype to focus on clear income pathways and the factors that drive engagement and inclusivity.

Turning creators into business owners

Our core finding is simple: the platforms that will win the next decade are those that empower creators to build and operate as true businesses, not just aggregate content for views. In a fragmented market with uneven earning opportunities, the most successful platforms are not just providing gigs, but the infrastructure for creators to own their work, manage their brands, and diversify their revenue streams.

A platform that helps creators run independent businesses is more likely to scale and unlock more sustainable income pathways, rather than just providing sporadic earnings. These platforms offer multiple features to increase user value and loyalty, and they solve for critical payment and infrastructure gaps. For instance, Boomplay has found success by partnering with telcos to offer bundled data plans and by integrating mobile money payments to address the issue of low credit card usage in Africa.

Our scan also delves into super interesting sector dynamics around:

• Gender: the digital creative industry presents new opportunities for women creators to participate and thrive in a space where their contributions have historically been underrepresented and/or undervalued.To ensure women can not only participate but also earn equitably, platforms must prioritize digital protections, inclusive policies, and equitable monetisation models. 
• The role of AI: platforms that effectively balance creative authenticity with the emergence of AI will be more resilient to disruption. The critical (t)ask for platforms is not to resist this change, but to define the terms of engagement. They must set clear standards for copyright and data privacy, financially incentivise human-led creativity, and decide where AI serves as a valuable tool versus a replacement for authenticity. 

Sounds interesting? Want to learn more? Read our Digital Creative Industries Sector Scan and get in touch if you want to find out more about our work in this sector