Namibia is intensifying efforts to secure access to social media monetisation, aiming to ensure that local content creators can earn from their digital work. The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT), led by Minister Emma Theofelus, is spearheading discussions with global tech giants and international partners to address challenges posed by Namibia’s small market size.
Theofelus highlighted that while the country has made significant strides in expanding digital engagement, Namibia’s population of just over three million remains a key obstacle to unlocking monetisation features on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook.
According to her, many international companies tend to prioritise larger markets that offer broader advertising reach and higher profitability, leaving smaller nations like Namibia at a disadvantage.
“It seems these entities are not quite incentivised to reach out to a market of three million people compared to a market of 50 million people. They talk about not having the capacity and the bandwidth and that they’re prioritising some markets versus others. We seem to not be in a priority market,” Theofelus said.
To strengthen Namibia’s case, the MICT has enlisted the support of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) a specialised United Nations agency — to help advocate for regional inclusion in digital monetisation frameworks. The partnership aims to amplify Namibia’s voice in global discussions and open opportunities for creators to earn income through ads, partnerships, and payment systems.
Theofelus confirmed that Namibia has held numerous meetings with leading technology companies in efforts to make this a reality. “We have had multiple engagements with people from Google in the Google AdSense department. We have multiple engagements with people from YouTube itself. We had multiple engagements with people from Apple Pay as well as PayPal. Those are the four we have engaged. We have reached out to the executives at TikTok for us to have that engagement. It’s such a struggle,” she said.
The government’s push comes at a time when many Namibian creators are producing high-quality online content but remain excluded from monetisation options available in other countries. Through these ongoing efforts, Namibia hopes to build a more inclusive digital landscape one where creators are not only seen but also rewarded for their work.
