Issue#4. Brazil's Creator Surge, Nigeria's POS Cash & Twitter's Eastern Appeal
Brazilians love creating and monetizing their passions; Nigerians turn to POS terminals for cash withdrawals despite challenges; Twitter enjoys unwavering popularity in Japan and Saudi Arabia.
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It’s been an eventful week, but we’re back at it again.
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Creators All Around Us
Who's the most creative country in the world? It's hard to say and quantify, but according to a study by Adobe, Brazil takes the top spot by a significant margin. Among the countries studied, Brazil leads in the creator economy participation rate: 50% of the population identifies as creators — adults who engage in creative activities, such as photography or writing, and post or share their work online; or create content on social media monthly aiming to grow their social presence. The number of creators in Brazil has surged by 73 million, a 69% increase since 2020.
No single factor drives this incredibly high participation rate. Broadly, there’s no direct correlation between a country’s creator participation rate and how much creators earn, whether they work full time, or any other metric. But in Brazil, every metric that might suggest a high creator participation rate actually confirms it.
Push towards independence. 39% of creators are either self-employed or students. This percentage exceeds 33% in no other country. The self-employment rate in Brazil is high at 32.1%, driven by several factors: high corporate tax rates, a high unemployment rate, businesses' reluctance to hire full-time due to economic instability, and the ease of starting a micro-business.
Pursuit of influence. 34% of those surveyed by Adobe aspire to be influencers, with only the US showing a higher percentage. Unlike creators, influencers have larger followings and crucially, monetize their content.
A lucrative endeavor. Another draw for many Brazilians is the financial appeal of content creation. Being a social media influencer can be more lucrative than a conventional job, especially in developing nations. On average, Brazilian creators earn 11.5 times more than a typical Brazilian worker, a ratio that doesn't exceed 8x in any other country.
Confidently creative. As per the report, 77% of creators consider themselves creative. This is higher than the 67% in Spain and below 65% in every other surveyed country. It's logical to think creators would see themselves as creative, but Brazilians seem especially confident in this self-assessment.
Factors exist that could further boost Brazil’s creator economy. Firstly, Brazilians spend more time on the internet than almost any other nation, providing creators with more chances to capture attention. Secondly, there are companies aiming to increase local creators’ monetization opportunities by connecting brands and influencers. Lastly, Brazil's vast size means creators can cater to niche audiences, allowing not just mainstream appeal but also specialized content. The future looks bright for Brazilian creators. Most likely.
A New Way of Using POS in Nigeria
A Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal is a hardware system for processing card transactions. We see them every day in restaurants, retail stores, and more. A POS payment simply means a payment made at a retail location. You'd only need a terminal if you're processing non-cash payments; otherwise, it’s a waste of money. You incur a one-time cost for the hardware and likely recurring costs for the software. Plus, cash transactions are harder to trace, and well, taxes are a thing.
In Nigeria, 62% of all POS transactions are cash-based. This contrasts with South Africa where cash makes up 35% of POS transactions. Yet, perplexingly, Nigeria has 1.1 million POS terminals, whereas South Africa boasts only 0.46 million1. Furthermore, Nigeria's growth in this area has been substantial; over 5 years, the country multiplied its number of terminals tenfold. But what's behind this trend?
What happened?
If you guessed that Nigeria saw a tenfold increase in retail locations in those 5 years, you'd be off the mark. And it isn’t about retail at all.
The shift began in 2011 when the Nigerian government introduced a Cash-less Nigeria initiative. The policy aimed to promote digital payments by limiting cash withdrawals and enhancing digital payment infrastructure. By 2014, the policy took effect, and its influence was quickly observed: between 2014 and 2016, the value of POS transactions doubled.
However, this was just the beginning. The real momentum came with the advent of agent or agency banking. These agents are intermediaries that offer banking services, typically in underserved or remote areas. This concept was regulated in 2013. These agents typically operate from small kiosks, allowing clients to withdraw, transfer money, pay bills, deposit funds, and even gamble. Ironically, by championing digital payments, the government indirectly bolstered the cash economy: about 90% of kiosk transactions involve cash withdrawals.
The popularity of these kiosks arises from frequent ATM malfunctions and a scarcity of bank branches in Nigeria — only 4.2 per 100,000 people, compared to 7.97 in South Africa.
For agents, this venture is profitable. Customers typically bear the transaction costs, and setting up a small kiosk doesn’t require a hefty investment. For banks, it's a strategic move to broaden their reach in a largely unbanked nation. In fact, only 64 million Nigerians don't possess a bank account. Case in point: Access Bank, a prominent Nigerian bank, acquired 4.46 million new clients between 2020 and 2021 by leveraging its agent network.
Several factors propel the agency banking business:
It's simple to get started, with 60% of agents running their financial services alongside their primary businesses.
Agents can collaborate with multiple financial institutions, as there are no exclusive contracts.
Some agents employ aggressive tactics to levy higher fees, which may be profitable, but bad for karma.
However, recent policy changes threaten this landscape. In March, the Nigerian government banned retail locations from using terminals for cash deposits and withdrawals. Thus, the aforementioned 60% may soon find their financial operations stifled.
While the decision might appear logical at a glance, it risks exacerbating the very issue agency banking sought to address — extending financial services to countless Nigerians.
Twitter, Japan, and Saudi Arabia
Twitter (and no, I won’t call it X), while not the largest social media platform (boasting around 10 times fewer users than Meta), arguably remains one of the most controversial. Its profound influence is evident, especially within the Anglophone sphere. Unsurprisingly, the US dominates in user numbers, but Twitter's reach is most potent in countries where English is the primary language or widely spoken.
This dominance can be attributed to the platform's nature: Twitter thrives on text-driven content, majorly encompassing news and the subsequent reactions. With the inherently fleeting nature of tweets, virality requires a combination of a broad user base and resonating content. Whether we acknowledge it or not, the pulse of global news largely mirrors the beats set by American news outlets. Historically, news has been a major catalyst for Twitter's expansion and continues to shape much of its content landscape today.
To underline my observation, let's look at the countries where Twitter has the widest reach2:
Singapore, Hong Kong, and the UAE: Predominantly expatriate-heavy regions, they're almost akin to city-states. While the UAE isn't technically one, its demographics and governance resemble such entities. In these regions, English is either an official language or is deeply embedded in everyday communication.
The Netherlands: This European nation boasts the highest proportion of English speakers in mainland Europe.
The US, the UK, Canada, and Ireland: The extensive use of Twitter in these English-speaking countries requires no further elaboration.
And then there are Japan and Saudi Arabia that don’t fit the English-speaking narrative.
A significant aspect of Twitter's success in Japan is the country's emphasis on privacy, indirectness, and avoiding confrontation. Unlike many other social platforms, Twitter promotes anonymity, letting people express themselves without restraint. For quite a while, Twitter even let you set up multiple accounts3, and Japanese folks jumped on this more than those in other nations.
Another unique feature about Japan is its script. It's more concise than English. Remember the 140-character limit on Twitter? Ten years back, you'd need to be super crafty with your words to convey your thoughts in English. With Japanese, not so much.
Switching to Saudi Arabia — it's a different story. The sheer number of Arabic speakers (350 million and counting) or cultural dynamics doesn’t fully explain it. Sure, Saudis have their identity, but when you look at Gulf nations as a whole, their differences aren't as pronounced as, say, between Japan and Germany.
In Saudi Arabia, Twitter's appeal is more about politics. Let's face it; political dissent is universal. But street protests in Saudi Arabia? Not really an option. So, a platform offering anonymity like Twitter becomes the go-to. Add to this the country's impressive 100% internet usage rate, and things start to click. Topping it off, it kinda seems like the government is pro-Twitter. Why? Well, some investment funds tied to the government own parts of the company. Plus, there are these hints suggesting the Saudi government might be using Twitter to spin things their way.
Not the most positive note to end on, but alas.
In 2019 the country had 0.42 million terminals, we get to 0.46 million figure by applying the growth rate for the previous 5 years.
Reach is defined as the total number of Twitter users divided by total population aged 13+.
You can do that now too, but it’s harder.