Ruto: 'Online advertising to unlock jobs, boost artistes' royalties'

President William Ruto has directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to prioritize advertising on digital platforms as part of a strategy to expand Kenya’s digital economy and create jobs for young creatives.

Speaking during the 97^th Kenya Music Festival State Concert at Sagana State Lodge in Nyeri County, the President said that shifting government advertising to online platforms will increase visibility for local content while boosting earnings for Kenyan creatives.

“We have no excuse not to advertise online. The more we advertise digitally, the more our content makes a global mark, and the more our creatives benefit,” Dr Ruto said.

The Head of State, who was accompanied by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba, noted that Kenya is among the few countries whose content creators now earn from Facebook through social media monetisation.

“We fought hard and we won. And we are not stopping,” he added.

To further support the sector, President Ruto revealed that the government is engaging Meta to integrate M-PESA into Facebook’s payment system, making payouts to content creators faster and more accessible.

He said he will also lobby Google during next month’s United Nations General Assembly in New York to enable Kenyans to purchase YouTube adverts via M-PESA.

“This will benefit both our creatives and MSMEs, while YouTube enjoys increased transactions,” said the Head of State.

The President further directed the Ministry of Youth and Creative Economy to fast-track plans to establish world-class studios in Kenya and prepare the ground for Nairobi to host an African edition of the Grammy Awards.

He disclosed that the Grammy team has already shown interest in setting up operations at the new Talanta Stadium currently under construction.

Dr Ruto reaffirmed the government’s commitment to embedding arts in the Competency-Based Curriculum, noting that music, drama and visual arts are now recognised as career pathways.

He said Sh950 million has been allocated this year to train teachers to identify and nurture talent from an early age.

He also ordered the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) to enforce the rule requiring 70 per cent of royalties to go directly to artistes, warning that non-compliance will result in loss of licences.

KECOBO has further been instructed to roll out a digital royalties system on the e-Citizen platform before the end of the year.

The President revealed that the Blank Tape Levy has already raised more than Sh100 million to support the creative industry, with the bulk of the proceeds going directly to artistes.

The Head of State announced that the government is rehabilitating cultural centres, including the Kenya National Theatre, Bomas of Kenya and regional hubs, to provide affordable performance and training venues.

He added that funds from the Housing Levy could also be channelled into building additional centres, while counties are being encouraged to set up creative industry hubs.

He highlighted the launch of an e-Citizen platform that now allows students, parents and fans to download school drama and music festival performances for less than Sh250, replacing the outdated DVD system.

“This is a bold leap forward and the first step towards building Kenya’s own ‘Netflix’ for local productions,” he said.

Dr Ruto also challenged network providers to offer fairer revenue splits to artistes and urged Parliament to expedite the Creative Economy Support Bill and the Culture Bill, which he said will unlock grants, attract major film productions and strengthen intellectual property protections.

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki praised the role of creative arts in nation-building, saying music helps fight negative values such as corruption, laziness and crime.

“Music helps us fight negative things that we want to discourage from our society. The vices include corruption, laziness, violence and crime,” Prof Kindiki said.

Among the standout performances at the winners’ concert were by Senende Boys High School, Alliance High School, Kenyatta University, and violinist John Momanyi of Nkoroi Secondary School, whose solo presentation drew special praise from the President.