YouTube, the online video platform that enables people to watch and share videos online, hosted the first YouTube Sub-Saharan Africa Creator Awards to celebrate the creativity and talent on YouTube across the continent.
Top artists Vanessa Mdee and Timaya shared the stage with some leading African YouTube stars including Fena Gitu, a 25 year old singer, songwriter and producer from Nairobi, best known for her single Brikicho.
The awards ceremony, which was held in Johannesburg South Africa, honoured YouTube creators with awards for 24 categories including the channel in each country with the most subscribers.
Kenyan YouTube Award Winner Kangai Mwiti poses with her award
Kangai Mwiti, a makeup artist who owns Bellesa Africa Channel, NTV’s Churchill Show and Jim Nduruchi whose channel focuses on fighting jiggers were the winners from Kenya.
Nominees were chosen based on subscriber numbers and how active they were on their channels. Top non-broadcaster channels were picked from each launched country (a country in which monetisation has been enabled, as it is not enabled in all countries globally).
The eight launched countries in Sub Saharan Africa are Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal.
"We are incredibly proud of YouTube for providing a platform that shares Africa's creativity with the rest of the world. Films from Nollywood along with stories like the one of Olympic medalist Julius Yego show that inspiring talent and stories from anywhere can find a global audience. By holding our first ever Awards, we hope to celebrate these incredible achievements, while also demonstrating our long-term commitment to the Continent," said YouTube CEO, Susan Wojcicki.
There are over 70 channels from launched Sub Saharan Africa countries that have reached over 100, 000 subscribers.
“YouTube is about the opportunity for people to express themselves. Creators across Africa are using YouTube to find their voice, connect with audiences around the world and build channels while earning revenue from it. The number of hours of video content in Africa being uploaded has doubled year over year for the past two years. And the audience has grown with it. Furthermore, watch time on mobile phones is growing 120 per cent year over year,” said Dorothy Ooko, Google’s Communications & Public Affairs, East & Francophone Africa.
The cost of data and the processing speed of many phones in Africa often make it challenging to enjoy watching videos online. To solve this challenge, YouTube rolled-out YouTube Offline, a feature enables Android and iOS users to save YouTube videos to their device for later viewing.
Daniel Churchill Ndambuki gives his acceptance speech
Below is
the full list of the winners:
Broadcaster - channels Television
Comedy - Kansiime Anne
Comic - Ramscomics/Supastrikas
Education - Retutro- photography and photoshop tutorials
Entertainment - Nani TV
Fitness - Six Pack Factory
Games - Slushy AJ
Makeup and fashion - Kangai Mwiti
Music - Yellow Brick Cinema
News and politics -Millard Ayo
Non-profit - Jim Nduruchi
People and Blogs - Suzelle DIY
Pets & animals - Earth Touch
Kenyan YouTube Award Winner of the Not For Profit Channel Award, James Nduruchi
Top Subscribed Creator in Uganda - Kansiime Anne
Top Subscribed Creator in Ghana - Official Sarkodie
Top Subscribed Creator in Kenya - Churchill Show
Top Subscribed Creator in Nigeria - Mark Angel Comedy
Top Subscribed Creator in Senegal - Prince Arts
Top Subscribed Creator in South Africa - Yellow Brick Cinema
Top Subscribed Creator in Tanzania - Diamond Platnumz
Top Subscribed Creator in Zimbabwe - Mufti Menk
Top Subscribed Nollywood Channel - IbakaTV/Nollywood