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The Real Reason African Content Creators Earn Less — And What Advertisers Must Understand About RPM vs. CPM
Kanayo O. Kanayo Reacts to Streaming Disparity – Isaac Jesumbo Explains the Real Reason
Veteran Nollywood actor Kanayo O. Kanayo has stirred conversation after reacting to Donawon’s viral video revealing that 1 million streams in Nigeria earn just $300, while in Sweden, the same amount can generate $8,000–$10,000.
Kanayo wrote:
> “They shadow ban us. They reduce our earnings. Our followers. Just because WE ARE BLACK.
Thank God OUR LIFE IS NOT IN THEIR HAND.”
But Isaac Jesumbo A.K.A Digital Professor, a seasoned Digital Marketing Consultant, offered a technical explanation. According to him, the difference isn’t about race — it’s about ad spend and purchasing power.
Isaac writes,
As an ad buying expert with extensive experience running high-performing campaigns across the U.S., U.K., Canada, Nigeria, and the Benin Republic, let me be unequivocal: the disparity in digital content monetization has nothing to do with race — it has everything to do with RPM.
Many African creators and advertisers have misunderstood the underlying mechanics of revenue distribution on platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. The truth is simple but technical. Let me break it down.
CPM vs. RPM — Know the Difference
In the digital advertising world, two metrics dominate the conversation: CPM and RPM. These are not just industry buzzwords; they’re fundamental indicators that control what you spend and what you earn.
- CPM (Cost Per Mille) is what an advertiser pays for every 1,000 impressions. It’s an advertising expense metric.
- RPM (Revenue Per Mille), on the other hand, is what a content publisher or creator earns per 1,000 ad impressions. It reflects the monetization potential of the traffic a creator generates.
Think of it this way: CPM is the advertiser’s cost, RPM is the publisher’s reward.
Why African Creators Earn Less — It’s About Ad Spend, Not Bias
Let’s put emotions aside and focus on the numbers. If a U.S. advertiser pays $10 CPM to run ads, and those ads appear on a U.S.-based creator’s content, that creator earns significantly more than their Nigerian counterpart.
Here’s why:
When I run ads in the U.S. or U.K., a typical daily budget is around ₦20,000 to ₦50,000, with some accounts scaling up to ₦100,000 daily (about $65 to $130+). In Nigeria, however, most advertisers work within ₦5,000 to ₦20,000 daily — roughly $6 to $26.
Since platforms like Facebook and YouTube operate in dollars, content creators in Nigeria and other non–Tier 1 countries naturally see lower RPMs. It’s not systemic exclusion — it’s simply lower ad budgets flowing through the system, which affects how much content creators in those regions are paid.
The Revenue Split: Where the Money Really Goes
Here’s another layer most people miss:
When you run ads, a percentage of your spend goes to the platform (Meta, Google, etc.), and the rest goes to the content creator whose content carried the ad.
So if the total spend in your region is low, then the cut content creators receive is correspondingly low. You can’t expect a Nigerian YouTuber to earn what a U.S.-based creator earns if the advertiser base in Nigeria is spending 5–10x less per impression.
My Expert Advice to Content Creators
I manage platforms for clients across YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, and here’s the consistent advice I give:
If you want to earn more from your content, tailor it for Tier 1 countries — the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, etc.
Why? Because advertisers in those countries are spending real money. They’re not running ads with ₦5,000 budgets — they’re investing hundreds or thousands of dollars daily. This boosts CPMs and, in turn, RPMs for creators whose content reaches that audience.
If your content is primarily reaching Nigeria or other low-ad-spend regions, you’re operating in a smaller revenue pool. That’s not discrimination — it’s economics.
Final Thought
Don’t ask, “Why are we paid less?” Ask, “How much are advertisers spending in our country — in dollars?”
Until that number increases, RPMs will remain low. Your best move? Strategically position your content to appeal to global, high-value audiences — and you’ll watch your revenue grow accordingly.
Reach Isaac On:
isaac@ourdigitalprofessor.com
+0122969354306
