2023, was indeed a phenomenal year for us at Selar. One word that perfectly describes it is “extraordinary” and we owe it all to the amazing Selar creators for trusting us with their business.

Our primary goal has always been to build and grow the creator economy in Africa. From day one, we’ve aimed to make it easy for creators to sell their digital products online and get paid easily from anywhere in the world. Every action we’ve taken from inception has brought us closer to this goal. 

In 2022, we paid over $4.5M to creators on our platform, a feat we attained thanks to the numerous creators who’ve taken the courage to share their knowledge with the world and get paid for it. 

In 2023, with over 407k transactions on our platform and almost a Million users,  we paid over 4 Billion Naira to creators on Selar. This number is double what we recorded in 2022, evidence of how extraordinary the year was. 

At the end of 2022, we closed the year with 70,000 creators selling on Selar, and in 2023, we did x2 of that number with over 150,000 creators selling their digital products and services on Selar. This records a 100% YoY growth. To every single 150K creator trusting us with their business, we couldn’t be more grateful!

Also at the close of 2023, we recorded over 880,000 registered users and had customers who bought products from our merchants from over 180 countries in the world. This reinforces one of our goals, to simplify payment processes and enable creators to sell to anyone and receive payment from anywhere in the world.

Commenting on our growth so far, our CEO, Douglas Kendyson, said, “We do not take it lightly that thousands of amazing creators and their customers trust our product today. As a bootstrapped company, making such a big dent in the full creator economy ecosystem is a really big deal for us and we’re genuinely so thankful. It makes all the sleepless nights and brain-racking of everyone on the team worth it.”

Check out other impressive milestones from Selar!

Selar Digital Creator Summit

We had the second edition of our flagship program, called the Digital Creator Summit, the largest virtual event for creators in Africa. This edition gathered creators, experts, coaches, and business owners across Africa to discuss “Going Global With Your Message.

Amidst so many events and programs that we had, our summit was the major highlight for us as we recorded a high number of attendees of 20,000 people from over 25 countries of the world. This number is double that of the previous year, 2022.

We also had renowned speakers like MI Abaga, Steve Harris, Josh2Funny, Elozonam, Mfon Ekpo, and other expert creators in the ecosystem.

Learn more about this event and how you can be a part of it this year. 

Selar Affiliate Network

In 2022, we launched the Selar Affiliate Network – a marketplace where creators can list their digital products for free and affiliates can pick any product of their choice and promote it for a commission on each sale made. That same year, we grew to 86K users (affiliates).

In 2023, we recorded over 107K users (affiliates) and 187M in affiliate sales. These numbers show and reinforce what we are building at Selar – that the creator economy would benefit not just creators but anyone interested in being a part of all it offers. 

The African Creator Economy and the Future of Work: A Look at Entrepreneurship and Job Creation in the Digital Space in Africa

We launched one of the most insightful reports for creators in Africa – The African Creator Economy and the Future of Work: A Look at Entrepreneurship and Job Creation in the Digital Space in Africa.

The objective of this report is to evaluate the impact of the creator economy in Africa and how digital creators are growing to become employers of labour.

Being at the forefront of creator activities in Africa, we aimed to investigate the current state of the African creator economy, the challenges and opportunities for digital creators, the role of technology and social media in facilitating the growth of the creator economy, and the impact of digital creators on job creation and economic development in the continent.

Product Launch & Updates

As we enabled creators to thrive in the creator economy, we went further to simplify their creator journey and empower them with all the features they need for business growth. This year, we had 11 new products/updates, all with one thing in mind: improving our creators’ experience.

Let’s highlight a few of our favorite product updates:

1. Show Love

Selar Show Love is our latest feature that creators can use to accept tips, donations, and cash gifts from friends, their audience, community, family, and loved ones. This means that creators who would love to be rewarded by their fans and community in form of monetary value can use this Show Love feature. We understand the importance of being rewarded as a creator, and that’s why we created Show Love. This feature was built so anyone can receive cash gifts from anywhere in the world. Learn more about this product. 

2. Validity period for coupon codes

With this update, creators no longer have to manually deactivate their coupon codes; the code will be deactivated automatically after a set time. Learn more about this product. 

3. Alipay and WeChat Pay

We integrated Alipay and WeChat Pay on Selar to enable your customers in China to pay for your products and services. This means on checkout, customers can see a variety of payment options including Google Pay, Apple Pay, WeChat Pay, and Alipay. Learn more about this product. 

4. Anti-piracy update: Email Overlay for courses 

We introduced a new feature that helps you prevent people from screen-recording your courses on Selar! The email address of the viewer is embedded in every video they watch. This means you can track every person who views your videos so that identifying people who use them for fraudulent means would be easier. Learn more about this update. 

5. New MailerLite integration

With this update, users get to add their buyers to their MailerLite list automatically. With our sale page builder opt-in form you can also add your subscribers to your MailerLite List. This is only available to Pro & Turbo Subscribers. Learn more about this update and what you can do with it. 

6. Pay for Subscription with MoMo (Ghana) 

We’ve made it easier for creators in Ghana to pay for their quarterly, biannual, and annual Selar subscription with Momo. Learn more about this update. 

7. Access duration for courses

This means customers can now set the access duration for Courses and Stream-Only Videos on Selar. So, instead of the default lifetime access customers have upon their course purchase, creators can now set a time frame for access, and when the time lapses, customers lose access to the course. Learn more about this update and what you can do with it. 

8. New support widget

We made an upgraded support widget so your customers can reach out to you more easily. Ensure to set your support channel details on the dashboard. Also, pro and turbo users can enjoy priority support and get instant assistance on Selar. Learn more about this update and what you can do with it. 

9. Course video player update – rewind, fast forward, etc

The video player has been upgraded to include features like adjusting video speed, full-screen mode, and multiple video resolutions. We also enabled multiple video formats so your customers can watch their courses in a resolution that works best with their internet connection and helps them save more data. Learn more about this update and what you can do with it. 

10. Email verification for users before fund withdrawal

We’ve made it compulsory for all users; both new and existing to verify their emails before making withdrawals. 

11. Course video comment

Your customers can now add comments to stream online-only video content allowing for a more engaging learning and teaching experience. 

12. Email overlay customization

Creators can now customize the email overlay that appears when anyone views your course on Selar. Meaning, you can customize the email addresses that appear on your course when anyone views it on Selar. 

13. Deactivate affiliate link

As an affiliate on Selar, you can now deactivate your affiliate links if you no longer want to use them. Learn more about this update.

14. Product status

With this feature, you can now indicate which products are available, sold out, or have reached the required number of enrollees. This means that if you have stopped sales on a product or have sold out “units”, you don’t need to unlist it from your storefront. Customers who visit your storefront can still see it but know it’s no longer available. Learn more about this update. 

15. Hide course curriculum

This new update allows you to hide your course curriculum on your storefront. Meaning, anyone who visits your storefront on Selar will be unable to see your course curriculum. Learn more about this update and how to use it. 

16. Redesigned dashboard

With our improved onboarding experience and redesigned dashboard, you now have a better experience using Selar! We now have different dashboard views for creator, customer, and affiliate profiles. Depending on how you plan on using Selar, you can switch easily at any time between these profiles. Learn more about this update and how to use it. 

Partnerships & Press Features

In 2023, we partnered with leading institutions like Wema Bank, SendPulse, Flutterwave, Shecluded, Money Africa, other communities, and creators to further develop the creator economy and empower creators to make money from their knowledge. From print and broadcast news to online publications and social media, our message and mission have reached a wider audience than ever before. You can find a full list of the brands and media houses we partnered with in 2023 in the image below.

Selar 100

We ended the year with The Selar100 campaign aimed at spotlighting the top creators in Africa and appreciating them for a job well done in 2023.

This year, we have all the validation we need to further grow the creator economy in Africa and create an empowering environment where creators can get paid for their knowledge. As always, we remain steadfast in showing Africans that they can earn a living from their passion, knowledge, and skills!

Cheers to growing the creator economy in Africa🚀