African creators go global on day one. Their money doesn’t.

African creators can quickly establish a worldwide audience with their initial post, but monetizing that following proves challenging, according to founders of Selar, Mainstack and Raenest. Payment systems that work seamlessly across borders would solve the issue, the panelists announced during a Moonshot by TechCabal event. The discussion centered on everyday creators who are not in the top echelon and often earn minimal income.

A survey in 2025 revealed that 56.45% of Nigerian creators earn under $100 monthly from their work. Ayobami Oyaleke, founder and CEO of Mainstack, explained that an audience is revenue waiting to be collected. "As much as you have the audience, there’s a revenue path for you," he emphasized. The challenge lies in creators not knowing how to transform their followers into income or encountering obstacles when attempting to collect it.

Oyaleke stated, "Tools only give you the pipe. You’re still the one running the volume." Mainstack's strategy involves treating every creator as global from the beginning to ensure that a $100 payment from an international buyer doesn't get lost due to payment failures. Douglas Kendyson, founder of Selar, founded the platform in 2016 after receiving requests from people who wanted to sell digital products online but faced steep website fees and unreliable payments.

Selar, now bootstrapped and profitable, has paid out over ₦18 billion ($12.9 million) to nearly 400,000 creators. Kendyson emphasized that a platform should leave creating revenue opportunities for creators, not finding customers for them. Raenest's co-founder and CTO, Sodruldeen Mustapha, stressed the importance of control in payment systems.

Creators have been exporting their talent, and their earnings should follow the same path, collected from clients anywhere, in any currency, and under the creator's control upon receipt. The founders unanimously identified the core problem as the fractured payment landscape for many creators. While a creator in Lagos can have followers worldwide from day one, transferring their earnings remains a significant hurdle.

Kendyson suggested that while new payment gateways appear regularly, the fundamental issue persists: "The infrastructure that fixes it doesn’t even have to be particularly unique. It just has to work."