YouTube sees 80% increase in mobile viewership in Kenya

YouTube is helping Kenyan content creators make money on the video platform by training them on how to grow their fan base and use other online tools.

Content creators such as Mark Angel Comedy from Nigeria, Maxine Wabosha and Chef Raphael were today part of an interactive YouTube content creator training where they shared their experiences about YouTube as they learned how to utilise the platform to the maximum.

YouTube attracts a global generation that has grown up watching what they want, whenever they want, on whatever device is closest. Across the world, more than 400 hours of video are uploaded every single minute, with 1.8 billion viewing hours a day and 1.9 billion monthly logged in users.  Globally, almost 40% of YouTube’s staggering 6 billion hours of monthly watch-time comes from mobile devices. On average, 60% of a channel’s views come from outside the creator’s home country.

“Over the past year, we have seen impressive growth in Kenya with an 80% increase in mobile usage.  This means more people are spending more time on mobile, watching YouTube videos,” says Dorothy Ooko, Africa PR Lead at Google Kenya.

Sarah Migwi of Protel Studios started her YouTube channel – The Real HouseHelps of Kawangware in 2014 and has received over 165,000 subscribers so far. The Real HouseHelps of Kawangware is a dramatic and comical series that follows the lives of domestic workers and their friends as they navigate the ups and downs of life in Kawangware.

Describing her journey on YouTube, Migwi says “We have been a premium YouTube partner for over 5 years. YouTube has made it possible for us to showcase our content as well as reach audiences in different parts of the world. The amazing thing is, it is free to upload your content and make money from it. YouTube has a wealth of applicable resources, training programs and educational material that have been instrumental in helping us grow our channel and audience.”

Other successful Kenyan YouTube content creators include Njugush, Africha Movies, Kangai Mwiti of Bellesa Africa and Joy Kendi.

“With over one billion people across Africa, we’re incredibly excited about the ways in which we can improve the YouTube experience to entertain, educate, and help individuals and businesses flourish throughout the region”, Ooko added.

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YouTube has also launched more than 300 product improvements to our search and discovery systems last year to help people find even more videos they love.  This includes things like the localised YouTube Music charts which captures exactly what Kenyans are listening to every week. Last year the firm introduced YouTube Go – an app designed for places where connectivity is slower and more expensive.  With YouTube Go, one can see and control exactly how much data one uses, play videos without buffering and enjoy videos offline.