Ugandan creators urged to monetize their content 

Abaas Mpindi, chief executive officer of the Media Challenge Initiative (MCI), has rallied content creators in Uganda to embrace the necessary skills to monetize their content.

Mpindi was speaking during the signing of the partnership agreement between MCI and the Embassy of France in Uganda at the MCI Media hub in Kabalagala, a Kampala suburb. 

Under the partnership agreement, MCI will offer digital skills training and an incubation program to 15 existing content creators drawn from around Kampala and the surroundings.

On the other hand, the Embassy of France in Uganda will provide the necessary financing, approximately Shs 181 million to facilitate the training of the selected content creators.

Under the program, content creators will be trained on how to prepare, produce, and monetize any form of content. To ensure sustainable growth and success, the 15 content creators will receive guidance from local business mentors.

Through a mentorship program spanning three months, the entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to share project feedback, receive support in implementing the wisdom from the training sessions, and explore potential digital business opportunities. The French Embassy will lead an organized debate and content exhibition, fostering exposure to the wider digital content market

Mpindi said, “Content is king. Each young person who owns a smartphone can either be a consumer, a creator, or both. Once a smartphone is in the hands of a person, one can use it to create remarkable change in their community. Content creation is destined to become the next employer for young people. I know that there are young people paid daily to design power points, and for managing social media accounts to reach more people. Although content creation is offering them employment, we have great belief that it can have a ripple effect on economic development.”

He added, “I want to make it clear that journalists and content creators can open doors for the market. We will be recruiting 15 already existing content creators to share how they’re using their content creation skills to advance change in Uganda and on the continent. These 15 will give us a baseline of what more we can do for the content creators in the future. Three content creators will be elected to get more seed funding”. 

Speaking during the same event, Xavier Sticker, the ambassador of France to Uganda, said there was a need to support young content creators in Uganda to help them achieve their dreams.

He said, “I am very grateful that we will be able to support Ugandan content creators based around Kampala and in the vicinities. As technology advances across the globe, content creation has risen to become a promising area in which most Ugandans can be employed. It is prudent that we teach them how to monetize their craft. It is estimated that the number of content creators globally will have grown six times by 2050. It should have Ugandans ready to tap into these opportunities. The Shs 181 million in support that we have channelled through MCI will serve as a baseline for future cooperation towards supporting content creators. Since content creation is a nascent sector in Uganda, it presents a fertile opportunity for monetization.”

According to the quarter four market performance report 2022 by the Uganda Communications Commission, internet penetration in Uganda had grown to 60 per cent from 50 per cent in December 2021.