Photo Credit :Royal Prestigious Group
South Africa’s Creator Economy took center stage at the TikTok Safer Internet Summit 2025 as Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi, urged TikTok to include the country’s 17 million users in its Creator Rewards Program, emphasizing their global influence and the need for fair monetization.
Malatsi made his call to action on March 26 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, where policymakers, digital experts, and industry leaders gathered for the TikTok Safer Internet Summit 2025.
While the event focused on online safety, he seized the opportunity to address a growing concern—monetization for South African creators.
During his keynote speech, Malatsi acknowledged TikTok’s positive impact on South African creator economy, citing figures like Liam Jacobs, Lasizwe Dambuza, and Dan Corder.
In his own words:
Liam Jacobs leveraged his activism and community engagement on TikTok into significant political influence. From a voice online, he successfully transitioned to becoming a voice within the highest decision-making body in our country by becoming a Member of Parliament
just to mention one of many.
He also emphasized South Africa’s role in TikTok’s global expansion, stating:
South Africa proudly hosts one of Africa’s largest and most dynamic TikTok communities — with over 17 million active users. Our talented creators regularly ignite global viral trends, showcasing a creativity and cultural influence admired worldwide.
Do South Africans get paid on TikTok?
Despite shaping global trends, South African TikTokers remain excluded from the Creator Rewards Program, unlike their counterparts in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Japan, South Korea,Germany and Brazil.
Malatsi questioned why local creators, who contribute to the platform’s success, are still unable to earn directly from their content. According to Malatsi,
This not only limits economic opportunity, it also sends the wrong message: that African creativity has reach, but not value.
How much does TikTok pay South African creators?
Prior to this public plea, many TikTok creators have openly shared their frustrations with the app’s monetization policies. Dominic Zaca, a South African content creator with 1.2 million TikTok followers, is among those speaking out:
African creators are not paid at all by TikTok. We don’t receive any form of remuneration for anything that we contribute on the platform. Unlike other platforms, we don’t get paid for any views, interactions or likes; neither are we compensated for any audio/music that may be used that we may have originally created. So, it’s not even a conversation of us being paid fairly – we are not being paid at all.
Although there hasn’t been any official record of TikTok’s response to Minister Malatsi’s appeal, we can only hope for effective change sooner rather than later for the sake of South Africa’s Creator Economy.
In Conclusion:
With TikTok’s presence expanding across Africa, the minister’s push raises important discussions about fair compensation and the platform’s commitment to its growing user base. His remarks have sparked renewed interest in the economic potential of digital creators in South Africa.
Should TikTok rethink its strategy in Africa? Share your thoughts!
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