There has never been a better time to be a creator in Africa. After years of seemingly thankless efforts in educating and entertaining the public, media platforms are finally opening up models for rewards. Meta’s Facebook was the last major platform to open revenue access to previously restricted countries in the continent. Now, online publishing platform Medium has joined the fray with a significant expansion of its Partner Program, which includes 23 African countries.
Launched in August 2017, the Medium Partner Program allows writers to earn money for the stories they publish on Medium, based on engagement and activity from Medium members. After seven years of gradual global expansion, August 6, 2024, marked a milestone with the opening of the program to 23 African countries, along with 54 other countries, bringing the total to 119 eligible nations.
“At Medium, we believe there are great stories everywhere,” said CEO Tony Stubblebine. “We are trying to build a better Internet because we want to be a home for perspectives from as diverse a set of countries, demographics, cultures, and lived experiences as we can. In expanding our Partner Program, we hope these new voices will help deepen our collective understanding of the world through their writing.”
This expansion concerns African writers in Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Tunisia.
This, by way of a breakdown, is how the Partner Program works.
Medium Partner Program: Eligibility and How to Get Started
To join the Medium Partner Program, writers must be at least 18 years old and have published at least one story within the last six months.
Getting started hinges on being a Medium member. Membership costs $60–$180 per year or $5–$12 monthly. New members, however, can enjoy a discount of 20% for a limited time.
Monetisation
To start earning, writers must make their stories eligible for revenue by placing them behind a paywall. This makes the content accessible only to Medium members.
Earnings are consequently generated from the actions of these members which revolve around:
- A follower bonus when a member follows you.
- 30 seconds (or more) of reading time from members.
- Positive reactions (claps, highlights, and comments) from members.
Clearing Payouts
To be eligible for the Medium Partner Program at all means Stripe is operational in your country, as it is the sole financial service provider for processing payments.
Having linked your Medium account with an active Stripe account, the next step is to provide your taxpayer information to Tipalti, Medium’s third-party payment service for payouts.
A review and verification will follow before Tilplalti sends an email update (typically within five working days) on your payout request.
It’s important to note that Medium only processes payouts once you’ve accumulated a minimum of $10. For example, if your stories earned $8 in August, you would need to wait until the next payment cycle when your earnings reach $10 before Medium sends the payout via Stripe.
Earnings summaries, payout history, and payment processor account fees are readily available on the Partner Program Dashboard.
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