Why I Think Africa’s Next Tech Boom Will Be Built Around Creators

By Ehima Prince

Over the past few years, I have spent a lot of time thinking about a question that keeps coming up while building technology products: where will Africa’s next major technology opportunities come from?

Right now, much of the global technology conversation revolves around artificial intelligence. Every accelerator is looking for AI startups, every developer is experimenting with large language models, and every founder is trying to understand how AI will reshape their products and businesses.

AI will undoubtedly transform the way we work and build. But I believe one of Africa’s biggest technology opportunities is quietly developing alongside it, and it has much less to do with artificial intelligence. I believe the next major wave will come from the infrastructure that enables creators to build sustainable businesses.

This opportunity is not theoretical. The global creator economy has already grown into a massive digital industry, with estimates placing its value in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Some industry estimates place the global creator economy at over $250 billion today, with projections suggesting it could surpass $1 trillion within the next decade.

Africa represents only a small fraction of that market today, but that is precisely what makes the opportunity interesting. The continent’s creator economy is still in its early stages, estimated at roughly $3–5 billion, with projections suggesting it could grow toward $18–30 billion over the coming years.

The gap between where Africa is today and where the global market is heading represents an enormous infrastructure opportunity.

When people hear “creator economy,” they often think of influencers making short videos on social platforms or YouTubers chasing views. That is only one small part of a much bigger picture.

Today, creators include software engineers teaching thousands of people online, DJs sharing their work globally, photographers selling digital products, writers building newsletters, fashion designers growing personal brands, educators creating courses, podcasters developing niche communities, and gamers building audiences around their skills.

These are not simply people creating content for entertainment. Many are entrepreneurs already. They are building communities, developing expertise, creating products, and generating economic value. The problem is that much of the infrastructure needed to support these businesses has not caught up with the pace of creation.

The supply side has already exploded. Affordable smartphones, improving internet access, and social platforms have made it possible for millions of Africans to build audiences from anywhere on the continent.

The challenge is no longer helping people create. Africans are already creating.

The challenge is building the systems that allow those creators to turn attention into sustainable businesses.

Today, many creators still depend on unpredictable brand partnerships, platform algorithms they do not control, or advertising models that often provide limited income in African markets. Building an audience has become easier, but building a business around that audience remains unnecessarily difficult.

From a technology perspective, this is where the opportunity becomes interesting.

The future is not necessarily about creating another platform where people post content. The bigger opportunity is building the infrastructure behind those creators: tools that help them earn money, manage communities, sell products, receive payments across borders, understand their audiences, and operate like modern digital businesses.

These are infrastructure problems, and historically, infrastructure problems create some of the most valuable technology companies.

While building Handshaake, I have experienced firsthand that the hardest part of creating solutions for African creators is rarely writing code. The bigger challenges are often invisible: fragmented payment systems, multiple currencies, identity verification, compliance requirements, taxation, settlement timelines, and the different ways people transact across countries.

A payment experience that works seamlessly in Nigeria may require significant adaptation before it can work in Kenya, South Africa, or other African markets. Building for Africa requires more than copying solutions from other regions. It requires understanding the realities of different markets and connecting fragmented systems into experiences that feel simple for users.

This is why I believe creator infrastructure represents such a significant opportunity.

Africa has one of the youngest populations in the world. Smartphone adoption continues to grow, digital communities are expanding, and more young people are exploring independent careers built around skills, knowledge, and creativity.

Students are increasingly learning from creators instead of traditional institutions. Companies are discovering talent through online communities instead of only through conventional recruitment channels. Communities are forming around individuals and ideas rather than traditional organizations.

These are not temporary trends. They represent a fundamental shift in how people create, learn, work, and build businesses.

Looking at more mature creator ecosystems around the world, we can see an entire industry forming around creators. Companies are building solutions for memberships, payments, digital products, merchandise, analytics, sponsorships, licensing, fan engagement, and community management.

No single company owns the creator economy because the opportunity is too large. The ecosystem requires many different layers working together.

Africa is still in the early stages of building many of these layers. That means there is enormous room for founders, developers, and entrepreneurs to solve different pieces of the puzzle.

We are already beginning to see startups addressing different parts of this opportunity. Some are focused on payments, others on commerce, analytics, audience management, and creator tools.

At Handshaake, we are focused on one part of this larger ecosystem: helping African creators receive direct support from their communities. The opportunity is significant because many creators already have audiences, but the systems that allow those audiences to financially support them remain underdeveloped. In many cases, creators have global reach but still lack simple tools for monetisation, payments, and community ownership.

The interesting thing about Africa’s creator economy is that we are not starting from zero. The creativity, talent, and audiences already exist. What is missing is the financial and technological infrastructure that transforms attention into sustainable businesses.

That is where I believe the next generation of African technology companies will emerge.

For developers and founders, this is what makes the creator economy exciting. The biggest opportunities may not come from building another social network or chasing the next viral feature. They will come from solving the operational problems faced by people who are already building businesses online.

The companies that succeed will likely be the ones that understand African realities instead of simply adapting products designed for completely different markets.

Africa does not have a creator problem. The creativity is already here.

The opportunity is building the infrastructure that allows that creativity to become sustainable businesses.

I’m curious to know what others think. If you’re a developer, founder, investor, or creator, where do you see the biggest gaps in Africa’s creator economy? Which problems do you think are still waiting for someone to solve?

Ehima Prince is the Founder, Handshaake — building infrastructure for Africa’s creator economy