Digital Lockout: Zimbabwean Creators Demand Access to Facebook Earnings
Zimbabwean content creators are calling on the government to engage Meta Platforms and secure access to Facebook’s monetisation programme, which remains unavailable in the country despite being active in eight other African nations.
With over 2.46 million local users on the platform, creators say they are excluded from earning revenue directly from their content, prompting risky workarounds and growing concern over digital economic exclusion.
The absence of formal monetisation tools has forced many Zimbabwean creatives to rely on foreign intermediaries to register earnings or advertise local businesses as an alternative revenue stream.
Industry experts warn that these methods expose creators to financial and legal risks, while neighbouring countries benefit from structured partnerships with Meta.
New media expert Engineer Timothy Kuhamba, who has studied monetisation trends across Africa, said Zimbabwean creators are forced to use foreign accounts and informal advertising strategies to earn from Facebook—methods he warns are risky and unsustainable.
“Due to the limitations of Facebook not being currently monetised in Zimbabwe, local content creators are currently monetising their pages using other people in other countries to register the sales for monetisation, and also having a strategy of advertising business on their Facebook pages,” he explained.
Kuhamba pointed to Kenya’s successful engagement with Meta in 2022 as a model Zimbabwe could follow.
“In August 2022, the President of Kenya engaged Facebook directors and Kenya managed to monetise Facebook in Kenya.
“The President of Kenya is now taking another step so they can receive their money through the mobile social media platforms,” he said.
He urged Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Sports, Recreation and Arts to prepare a formal proposal for President Mnangagwa to present during his upcoming visit to New York from September 9 to 23.
He believes such a move could unlock employment opportunities for local creatives and generate foreign currency inflows.
As reported by ZBC, Zimbabwe’s exclusion from Facebook’s monetisation scheme has left its creators trailing behind peers in countries like Kenya and Nigeria, where digital content now contributes meaningfully to national economies.
Without access to monetisation tools, Zimbabwean creatives remain sidelined from the growing digital economy.
With regional neighbours reaping the benefits of digital partnerships, Zimbabwe stands at a crossroads.
Advocates say that with political will and strategic engagement, Facebook could evolve from a platform of expression into a powerful tool for economic empowerment.
