The conversation around Africa’s digital economy took a bold turn in Lagos on Saturday as media entrepreneur Chude Jideonwo unveiled fresh insights into Nigeria’s booming creator industry.
The occasion was the inaugural Digital Creator Africa Summit, a gathering designed to spotlight the transformative power of online creators across the continent.
Before an audience of creators, investors, and media leaders, Jideonwo painted a vivid picture of an industry that has grown beyond entertainment to become a pillar of economic and cultural life. “What these numbers show,” he declared, “is that creators are no longer just influencers — they are media companies, and increasingly, nation-builders.”
The data he shared underscored his point. According to his findings, Instagram media personality Tunde Ednut earns an estimated $5,000 daily, leveraging a mix of affiliate promotions, advertising, and music amplification. It is a revenue model that mirrors global influencer economies but remains distinctly Nigerian in its approach and reach.
Another example came from the podcasting world. The hit show I Said What I Said (ISWIS) reportedly generated nearly $200,000 in a single month from live events hosted across the US, UK, and Canada. The figures highlight how African creators are finding fresh income streams beyond traditional digital advertising.
For Jideonwo, these numbers are not just trivia — they are evidence that the continent’s creative class is rewriting the rules of media, commerce, and culture. “Creators are building billion-dollar value chains,” he insisted, “and they’re doing it without waiting for permission.”
The summit itself was designed to reframe the conversation. Rather than focusing on clicks, likes, and viral trends, discussions emphasized infrastructure, sustainability, and ownership. In Jideonwo’s words, “This is about shifting from virality to value.”
In line with that vision, Jideonwo announced the launch of the Fourth Mainland (4ML) Creator Fund, seeded with his personal commitment of $500,000. The fund will provide capital, intellectual property support, and platform distribution to African creators with high potential for growth.
“We’re building the Mavin Records of storytelling,” he explained, drawing parallels to Don Jazzy’s legendary music label. “Not just with fame, but with financial tools, ownership, and a full studio system that lets creators scale across the continent and diaspora.”
The Creator Fund will serve as a prelude to the larger Fourth Mainland ecosystem, a creator commerce platform set to launch in 2026. The platform promises to offer monetization tools, subscription services, and joint-IP models that can support Africa’s diverse content creators.
By positioning itself as the first large-scale infrastructure project for the continent’s $100 billion creator economy, Fourth Mainland seeks to solve what Jideonwo calls “the missing infrastructure challenge” — the absence of structured financial and institutional support for creators.
Jideonwo is no stranger to building systems. As co-founder of Joy, Inc., YNaija, and host of the popular #WithChude series, he has spent the last two decades shaping narratives and developing platforms for young Africans. This latest project, however, extends beyond storytelling into commerce, technology, and investment.
Industry observers at the summit noted that the initiative arrives at a critical moment. Across Africa, creators are increasingly defining civic discourse, shaping political narratives, and building global cultural bridges. Their influence, once dismissed as fleeting, is now being recognized as both economic and structural.
“If music had Mavin Records and tech had CcHub, then creators now have their studio systems,” Jideonwo said in his keynote, titled Overtaking is Allowed. His argument was simple: creators are driving some of Africa’s most important cultural and civic shifts, and they need the infrastructure to keep building.
The reaction in the hall was one of both excitement and urgency. Creators spoke of challenges ranging from financing to global distribution, while investors expressed interest in how structured platforms could unlock long-term returns. The summit closed with a call for policymakers and funders to take the sector seriously.
As the lights dimmed on the Lagos event, one message was clear: Africa’s creator economy is no longer a side hustle. With the Fourth Mainland Creator Fund and the data unveiled, Jideonwo has made the case that the sector is poised to be one of the continent’s most significant engines of growth in the years ahead.
