Sauti — Africa's Short-Video Creator Economy

The opportunity

A $5B creator economy with no real home.

Global short-video platforms were built for Silicon Valley infrastructure. Africa has something different: 750 million mobile users, expensive metered data, and mobile-money wallets. Sauti turns every one of those differences into an advantage.

750M+

Mobile subscribers across Sub-Saharan Africa

GSMA 2024

$5B+

African creator economy, growing 25% YoY

Influencer Marketing Hub 2024

290M+

MTN MoMo registered users — no bank account needed

MTN Group 2024

~0%

African creators eligible for TikTok Creator Fund payouts

TikTok eligibility rules

The gap is structural, not a preference. TikTok requires a bank account and a US/EU/UK address for payouts. Instagram Reels monetisation is unavailable in most African markets. African creators generate billions of views — and see almost none of the revenue. Sauti closes that gap from day one.

Two sides, one app

Built for the people global apps forget.

Not “TikTok, but local.” Engineered for expensive data, patchy signal, and mobile-money wallets — from the first line of code.

Relaxing and watching short videos on a phone

For viewers

Watch more, spend less data.

Adaptive video that starts instantly on 3G, a data-saver that shows exactly how much you’ve saved, and downloads for the commute.

✓Instant play — the next video is ready before you swipe.
✓Data-saver mode with a visible “data saved this week” counter.
✓Your language — a feed and trends that actually sound like home.

A creator filming a dance video on the street

For creators

Get paid today, not next month.

Fans send gifts; you cash out to MTN MoMo, Airtel, or M-Pesa the same day. Every naira and shilling, tracked to the video that earned it.

✓Same-day payouts to your mobile-money wallet.
✓Clear earnings — see what each post made, and when it pays.
✓Reach further — auto-captions carry your video across languages.

Why it feels different

Small details that matter on African phones.

Streaming a video on the go on an African city street

Works on real networks

Adaptive bitrate down to 240p, 2-second start-up, and preloading tuned for 3G — not a 200 Mbps demo room.

Mobile money payment on a phone at a market

Mobile money, in and out

Pay and get paid with MTN MoMo, Airtel Money, M-Pesa, cards, and bank — through licensed rails.

Watching a downloaded video on a commute

Data-saver & offline

Cap the bitrate, watch on Wi-Fi-only, or download to watch later with zero data.

Local languages

Pidgin, Swahili, Hausa, French and more — plus captions that translate across them.

The sounds you know

Afrobeats, Amapiano, Bongo, Gengetone — a music library that’s actually from here.

Safe by default

Report, block, and automated moderation from day one — a place you’d let your cousin scroll.

Why not TikTok?

Sauti vs. the alternatives.

Feature	TikTok	Instagram Reels	Sauti
Mobile-money payouts (MoMo / M-Pesa)	✗ Not available	✗ Not available	✓ Day-one
3G-first adaptive streaming	✗ Assumes fast data	✗ Assumes fast data	✓ Built for it
Offline video downloads	✗ Premium only	✗ Not available	✓ Free, built-in
Same-day creator payouts	✗ 30-day minimum	✗ Monthly, bank only	✓ Same day
African music catalogue	✗ Limited / removed	✗ Limited	✓ Afrobeats, Amapiano, more
Local language feed & trends	✗ English-dominant	✗ English-dominant	✓ 10+ languages
Creator monetisation in Africa	✗ Fund unavailable	✗ Reels Pay unavailable	✓ Gifts + payouts

Business model

How Sauti earns.

Every transaction on the platform creates a revenue moment. We built the monetisation from day one — not as an afterthought.

Gift take-rate

When fans send gifts to creators, Sauti takes a 20–30% platform fee on each transaction. This is the core revenue engine — real-time, per-video, zero lag.

Live at launch

Web coin top-ups

Viewers buy Sauti Coins on the web (not in-app), bypassing Apple and Google’s 30% IAP cut. This preserves margin while staying compliant with app-store rules.

Live at launch

Creator subscriptions

Fans subscribe to a creator’s channel for exclusive content and perks. Sauti earns a platform fee on each subscription — recurring, predictable revenue.

Phase 2

Brand & native formats

Contextual short-video ads and brand partnership formats built natively for the feed — designed not to interrupt, but to feel like content.

Phase 2

Creator flow

From your camera to your wallet.

The whole loop, in one app, on the data budget you actually have.

Post

Record or upload — even on weak signal. Drafts queue and send when you’re back online.

Get gifted

Fans send gifts as they watch. Your earnings show up in real time, per video.

Cash out

Withdraw to your mobile-money wallet the same day. No forms, no waiting weeks.

The founders

Built by people who know the problem firsthand.

Sauti is a clean-room, original build — created from first principles by a team that lives in the market we’re serving.

Raphael Gab-Momoh

Co-founder · Product & Engineering

Leads product strategy and technical architecture. Designed Sauti’s 3G-first video pipeline, mobile-money payment rails, and modular backend — built from scratch for African infrastructure realities.

Kefe Collins

Co-founder · Growth & Partnerships

Leads creator acquisition, community growth, and brand partnerships. Deep knowledge of the African creator landscape — the people Sauti is built for and the networks that matter.

Made in Africa.
Paid in Africa.