Mercy Mang’eni & Wairimu Gitahi 

Social media has transformed the world of marketing, as influencers and content creators have become a mainstream way for brands to advertise. Nevertheless, the process of managing content creators is difficult and time-consuming. Many firms spend a lot of energy and resources sourcing, negotiating contracts, verifying and managing content, and following up on payments with content creators and, sometimes, are still unable to meet their marketing targets. 

Wowzi is a digital advertising e-commerce platform that connects brands and advertising agencies with social media content creators (influencers) to help them deliver targeted messaging to audiences in an efficient and effective way. Started in 2020, Wowzi is based in Kenya and operates in twelve African countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. 

The market for social media advertising in Africa is projected to experience a growth rate of 4.95% from 2023 to 2027, growing to US$1 billion by 2027 as more brands shift from traditional forms of advertising, such as TV, radio, or billboards, to influencer marketing. This shift implies new functions and skills in marketing departments, which must now manage large numbers of relationships with influencers, all functioning as independent contractors. 

Wowzi solves this problem for brands with a solution for finding and managing content creators. In addition to effectively addressing the challenge of managing content creators, Mike Otieno, Co-founder of Wowzi, emphasizes that their solution plays a crucial role in generating meaningful livelihoods for African youth: “At the core of Wowzi’s mission lies the aspiration to generate meaningful job opportunities for Africa’s youth. Redirecting advertising budgets that were traditionally allocated to corporates towards this vibrant demographic stands as one of the most impactful paradigms for job creation within the dynamic landscape of the gig economy.” 

Wowzi currently has 150,000 influencers on the platform, with a target to grow this number to one million by 2025. Mike says this number corresponds with the number of jobs they want to create for youth worldwide. “Inside our office, a prominent banner boldly bears the declaration of ‘1 million jobs.’ This resonates deeply with our team, signifying a journey of purpose. The pace at which we achieve this milestone hinges on our ability to catalyze demand – the faster we propel this momentum, the sooner we can realize that ambitious number.”

Becoming an influencer for Wowzi is a straightforward process. All that is required is a smartphone and a minimum of 250 followers on at least one social media platform. When Wowzi secures a contract for a brand campaign, they consider the job description against the expertise and interests of diverse influencers on their platform. Upon agreeing to the terms of engagement, which include payment details and campaign duration, influencers sign up to work with a brand and utilize provided instructions to craft content. 

“At a certain point, some influencers are earning as much as $1,500 per month, effectively transforming their roles into full-time work. Additionally, an emerging trend among brands involves ‘always-on’ campaigns – a perpetual advertising approach. When brands appreciate the value an influencer brings to their campaigns, it often leads to extended, enduring partnerships,” elaborates Mike.

Jobtech Alliance is proud to have invested in Wowzi, and we are excited about the potential for Wowzi to scale and seize new opportunities.“We invested in Wowzi because we want to support them in coming up with strategies on how to expand in new regions so as to create more job opportunities in new regions. At the moment, we are supporting them to launch in Uganda. We also want to work with them to deepen existing relationships with their current clients. From this collaboration, we will be able to share learning with the larger ecosystem that will be useful for other jobtech platforms,” says Mercy Mang’eni, Senior Venture builder at Jobtech Alliance.  

Mike says they are happy to be partnering with Jobtech Alliance: “They are really helping us to be articulate in the job creation aspect and supporting us in this journey.  So, for the first sprint, we have been working on the geographical expansion into Uganda, which is going very well. We have a big launch coming up in Uganda. At the same time, Jobtech Alliance is connecting us to potential funders and partners, so we really value these networks, which would be difficult for us to get on our own. We are also working with them on how to be more inclusive on our platform by increasing the number of women and also working with refugees and people living with disabilities as well,”    

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The Jobtech Alliance is an ecosystem-building initiative around inclusive jobtech in Africa launched in late 2021. We’re interested in digital platforms which connect people to work opportunities that build livelihoods – this includes gigmatching platforms, job matching, e-commerce marketplaces, and more. The Jobtech Alliance helps jobtech platforms to grow and create more jobs.