President William Ruto Hosts 109 YouTube Creators at State House

By: Grace Njeri 2 min read
President William Ruto Hosts 109 YouTube Creators at State House

Nairobi, Kenya: June 13, 2023: His Excellency Hon. William Ruto hosted 109 YouTube creators from around the world at Statehouse, marking a momentous occasion for the creative industry. The creators, including 11 from Kenya, were invited to the YouTube Black voices closing ceremony delegation.

The YouTube Black Voices Fund, now in its 3rd year was founded to amplify black perspectives and experiences and directly support Black creators, artists, songwriters and producers so they can have resources to thrive on YouTube.

Over these years, the YouTube Black Voices Fund has supported 378 creators globally, including 18 creators from Kenya. This included dedicated support from a YouTube Partner Manager; seed funding in developing their YouTube channels and tailor-made training, development and networking sessions.

“The opportunity to be hosted by Your Excellency is for me the highlight of this tour. These creators range from travel vloggers, educators, financial literacy advisors, make-up artists, news producers, chefs, agriculturalists, designers among others, said Alex Okosi, Managing Director, Emerging Markets, YouTube EMEA.

“YouTube is privileged to be a part of Kenya’s rich and diverse culture. You have a vibrant music scene, a thriving film industry, and a growing number of talented artists and creatives. In Kenya, the number of YouTube channels making 100k Shillings or more in revenue is up over 25%, year over year  as of December 2022 and over 14 channels have more than 1M subscribers, an increase of more than 110%, year over year,” added Alex Akosi.
“I look back on the journey we have traveled with Google with tremendous pride and satisfaction, grateful for the immense opportunities our partnership has unlocked for many creative Kenyans,” said H.E. President william Ruto.

109 YouTubers who have benefited from the YouTube Black Creators Fund from the USA (21), UK (30), Canada (12),South Africa (18), Nigeria (17) and Kenya (11)

Grace Njeri

Grace Njeri

Grace Njeri is a storyteller and lifestyle journalist who is all about infusing daily life issues into articles. She has a natural skill for trendy conversations about fashion, travel and entertainment. She is also the author of a personal blog ‘The Blendie’ where she serves up personality, energy and insights on life and more style.