By Juliet Gillies
YouTube has announced the 27 African YouTubers it will be working with under it’s ‘Black Creator Class of 2022’ over the next year to help them grow their channels – and of course grow YouTube on the continent. They will receive partner support, seed funding and a raft of training and development programmes.
The 27 all come from 3 countries: Kenya (4), Nigeria (11) and South Africa (12). Here they are:
Angel Lately– 19.9k subscribers. Wendy Angel Nangayo started her channel in 2019 and is the smallest of the 3 Kenyan channels chosen. She talks about her life and lifestyle matters, with a focus on shopping, beauty, fashion, perfume and ‘Things I don’t hate’.
Cheymuv – 85.6k subscribers. Cheyenne Muvunyi first started uploading videos in 2018. She talks about her life and lifestyle matters, with a focus on clothing, hair, beauty and fashion, e.g. ‘wash n go’ hair routine, Spring essentials.
Shared Moments with Justus – 68.2k subscribers. Justus Nandwa is another newbie on YouTube, with his first video going up less than a year ago. He talks about policies, equality, equity and life, e.g. ‘Living with epilepsy’, ‘I believed my mother hated me’.
MMTD – 86.4k
Mandi Sarro first uploaded to YouTube 8 years ago, but really got going 3 years later. This is the biggest of the Kenyans channels chosen. It has some videos on travel in Kenya, but focuses on cooking, e.g. Cajun fried whole fish and brined and grilled chicken wings.
Adaeze’s Space – 38.9k subscribers. Adaeze Jideonwo started her channel in 2019. She talks about her life, lifestyle matters and how women can improve their lives, e.g. ‘We travelled to the village for Christmas’.
Chinyere Abang – 39.5k subscribers. She’s been uploading videos for 7 years. She talks about marriage, motherhood, make-up, shopping, her life and lifestyle matters, e.g. ‘We are buying a house’.Critics Company – 109k subscribers. This multimedia company started uploading short vids on all sorts in 2018, focusing on the sci-fi genre, e.g. ‘Timothee – sci-fi short film’. It is the biggest of the Nigerian channels chosen.
Data Pepple – 9.97k subscribers. She started uploading animation videos a year ago. Think Bratz & Barbie, girly-sexy aka Jessica Rabbit, and plenty of pink, e.g. ‘Nolly babes fashion’, ‘Animating in Procreate’.
Fisayo Fosudo – 241k subscribers. He’s been on YouTube for five years and is the biggest of the Nigerian channels in this list. He first started talking about tech stuff and then branched out into all things to do with money, e.g. ‘Best Sony’, ‘The problems with the eNaira!’.
Funmeee Ayo – 14k subscribers. Funmi talks about baking, food, her life and lifestyle matters. She is the smallest of the Nigerian channels in this list and started on YouTube 5 years ago, with a buttercream ombrée cake.
HN Clothings – 47.8 subscribers. Haven Chikodinaka is also new to YouTube – her first video on how to make a facemask was uploaded less than a year ago. She makes patterns, sews, and shows people how to make everything from baskets to simple dresses and corsets.
Skybelle – 26k subscribers. Amaka talks about beauty, skincare, make-up and living in Africa, e.g. ’12 skincare products you don’t need’. She started uploading videos 3 years ago.
Steven Ndukwu – 90.9k subscribers. He talks about real estate, houses, buildings and living in Africa, e.g. ‘This house was built in 3 days and its sustainable and cheap in Lagos’. He has been uploading videos to YouTube for the past 2 years.
TNC Africa – 50.7 subscribers – Wale tells stories about life in Africa, e.g. ‘Our best friend’s wedding’. He started his channel a year ago.
Ummeeta – 18.9k. Halima Yusuf Rabiu has a lifestyle channel that has been up for 4 years. She posts about her life, marriage, family, beauty matters, her travels and food, e.g. ’We went to Paris again!’, ‘Restaurant hopping and more shopping’.
Defining – 154k. There is a team of 3 behind this established channel: Dennis Ngango, Bongani Baloyi and Nomathansanqa Plaatjie. They got going on YouTube 3 years ago, focusing on the lives of Millenials and Gen Z Africans and anything that is topical to them, e.g. ‘Dear Anxiety, I’m back’.
Uncomfortable Growth – 66.6k subscribers. Gugulethu Nyatsuma is a relative newcomer, having started on YouTube in 2020. She talks about life, lifestyle, mental health and Cape Town, e.g. ’24 things I’ve learned at 24’.
The Ndlovu’s Uncut – 282k subscribers. Hungani and Stephanie Ndlovu are actors and entertainers who showcase aspects of their lives and lifestyle, with a focus on fun, e.g. ‘Our marriage story’, ‘Soulmates or not?’. This is one of the biggest South African channels.
Manjra – 7.17k subscribers. Aarif Muhammad Manjra has been very busy on YouTube for about 18 months. He is a bit of a comedian and focuses on gaming, especially Fortnite.
Michelle Expert – 6.7k subscribers. Michelle talks about her life, lifestyle, starting a business and how to make money, etc., e.g. ‘How to build confidence’, ‘Lessons from my failed business’. She started 4 years ago and is the smallest of the South African channels.
Mlungisi Nkosi – 25.1k subscribers. Mlungisi has an engineering background and is currently doing an honour’s degree in education. He explains maths, physics and chemistry topics, e.g. hyperbola, linear function, acids and bases, rates of reaction, etc. He’s been uploading videos for a year, and I suspect this one’s going to mushroom fast.
Mpoomy Ledwaba – 215k subscribers. Another of the bigger channels chosen, she talks about her life, lifestyle and marriage, e.g. ‘The beauty of travelling with your partner’. She has been active on YouTube for 3 years.
Nico Nomyayi – 7.13k subscribers. Nico has been active for 2 years, but doesn’t upload frequently. He talks about his life and lifestyle as a “black, queer South African”, e.g. ‘My first boyfriend and why things didn’t work out’.
Nozibele Qamngana – 164k subscribers. Nozibele is a self-published author and an HIV activist, who has been on YouTube for 2 years. She is HIV+ and her videos tell her story about becoming infected and living with HIV, ‘Asking Skhu to marry me’.
The Tshegofatso – 15.8k subscribers. Tshegofatso Isaac talks about her life, lifestyle, travels, how to make money and matters relating to digital, e.g. ‘How to make money with affiliate marketing’. She has been busy on YouTube for 4 years.
Xukununu_Bold – 13.9k subscribers. Xukununu Ntsetselelo Makaela talks about acne and the skin, hair and other beauty topics, and her life and lifestyle, e.g. ‘Intense peel’, ‘My acne journey’. She has been on YouTube for 2 years.
