Instagram has emerged as the most reliable income generator for Kenyan content creators, cementing its dominance in a fast-evolving digital economy that has shifted from a casual pastime into a billion-shilling industry.

A report by OdipoDev shows Instagram’s top creators monetised 40.8 per cent of their views, ahead of Facebook at 21.2 per cent and TikTok at 12.2 per cent. While TikTok remains a powerful driver of viral growth, many Kenyan creators say it struggles to translate visibility into consistent earnings.

Despite its high engagement rates, TikTok failed to deliver steady income, leaving Instagram to lead in converting creativity into livelihoods, according to the report. 

“TikTok is an attention monster, but its monetisation is still weak. Instagram wins despite having the smallest raw audience numbers,” the report noted. This is commensurate with markets such as India, where large creator bases have outpaced the development of monetisation infrastructure, resulting in high engagement but limited revenue opportunities.

The financial scale of Kenya’s creator economy is, however, growing rapidly. Influencers earned an estimated Sh296 million from social media marketing in 2025, with total industry payouts reaching about Sh1.07 billion. Here, top earners are dominated by established personalities. Comedian Eric Omondi leads with Sh57 million, followed by Amber Ray at Sh44 million and Dem Wa FB at Sh35 million.

We’ve just released a research into Kenya’s Creator Economy. Here’s what the data says about who’s actually making money, which platforms are paying off, and where the big opportunity still lies pic.twitter.com/0MVCCebdtF

— Odipo Dev (@OdipoDev) April 8, 2026

Comedy remains the most lucrative content category. Backbench Animation tops Instagram rankings with an average of 4.33 million views per video and a cumulative 211.99 million views. Other leading creators include Tom Daktari, averaging 1.10 million views per video, and food content creator Dennis Ombachi, with an average of 1.06 million views per post.

Lifestyle content also commands significant audiences, with creators such as Vera Sidika, Diana Bahati, Kabi wa Jesus and Jacky Matubia maintaining strong followings. In the news segment, Larry Madowo stands out with an average of 590,500 views per video, while Africana Ochieng is the only child among the top 20 Instagram creators.

On Facebook, Lupita Nyakisumo leads in lifestyle and fashion with an average of 847,700 views per video and more than 231 million cumulative views. Comedy creators Tr Kalausi and Tom Daktari also perform strongly, while Junior Comedian ranks among the top five with over 287 million total views.

TikTok continues to deliver unmatched visibility despite monetisation challenges. Backbench Animation again leads with 5.32 million views per video, while creators such as Akoko Vallery and Jaymoh Decin attract millions of views even as they struggle to convert reach into revenue.

The report highlighted a persistent gap between visibility and value, particularly on TikTok. “The discovery gap is the biggest untapped opportunity in Kenya’s creator market. TikTok creators are sitting on billions of views with barely any brand deals. For brands: the undercapitalised creator is where the ROI is hiding,” it stated.

With limited direct platform earnings, most creators have relied heavily on brand partnerships. Small and medium-sized enterprises essentially became the backbone of the market, accounting for 80 per cent of partnerships among 1,171 companies analysed. While the most lucrative deals still come from large corporations and multinationals, the volume of activity is largely driven by local businesses.

The report also showed that spending is concentrated in key sectors. Beauty and personal care led with 314.7 million campaign views from 174 companies, followed by food and beverage at 275.5 million views. Telecommunications and financial services accounted for 172.1 million views.

The findings have brought to the fore the growing commercialisation of Kenya’s digital space as brands shift advertising budgets from traditional media to social platforms. While entertainment and comedy dominate, the long-term growth of the sector is tilted towards addressing monetisation challenges and ensuring creators are fairly compensated for the attention they generate.

The report comes amid government efforts to unlock earnings for creators. During a March 2024 meeting with Meta officials, President William Ruto said Kenyan creators would soon be able to receive payments for Facebook and Instagram content via mobile money, addressing long-standing barriers to accessing traditional financial systems.

“In the next few weeks and months, it will now be possible for our content creators to transact using M-Pesa, which is much easier, accessible and a space where many Kenyans interact freely and much more comfortably,” he said.

During the talks, the Meta team revealed that by June of the same year, Kenyan creators would be able to monetise their content.