Speaking at Africa Blockchain Festival 2026 in Nairobi, Nigerian comedian and content creator Layi Wasabi discussed how he chose his manager, the importance of strategic alignment, and why creators need both viral visibility and paid opportunities to build sustainable careers.
For Nigerian comedian and content creator Layi Wasabi, building a successful creative career involves more than making people laugh or producing content that attracts millions of views. It also requires strategy, the right management relationships, and a business model that turns audience attention into income.
At the Africa Blockchain Festival (ABF) 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, Wasabi shared insights from his experience navigating the creator economy during a fireside session titled The Business of Being an African Creator: Money, Ownership, and the Real Conversation.
The October 16 session, moderated by Abisola Oyewole, founder of Elewa TV, brought together creators and industry professionals to discuss the commercial realities of building creative businesses in Africa, including contracts, talent management, pricing, and monetization.
Wasabi’s contribution focused on the importance of finding the right management partner and balancing the pursuit of viral content with the need for consistent commercial opportunities.
Choosing a manager goes beyond securing brand deals
Asked how he chose his manager, whom he has worked with for three years, Wasabi said the decision was influenced by the manager’s experience and proven track record with other talent.
Rather than relying solely on promises, he evaluated the manager’s existing work and the impact he had made on the careers and brands of other creators.
“Even before we started working, he had an amazing profile. He had been doing this for a minute. He had managed several other talents, and I had seen his handprints on their brand,” Wasabi said.
He explained that he already understood where he was in his career and what would be required to reach the next level. He therefore wanted someone who could contribute strategy, industry insights, and a clear direction for growth.
The relationship, he said, became seamless because both parties shared a strategic outlook.
“We just aligned on strategy. He’s a strategic man, and I’m a strategic person, so our strategies aligned,” he added.
His comments highlight an important distinction in creator management: effective representation is not simply about finding brands or negotiating campaign fees. It also involves understanding a creator’s long-term ambitions and developing a strategy to achieve them.
Why creators need both viral content and paid opportunities
Another key discussion at the session centred on whether creators should prioritise viral content or paid brand collaborations.
For Wasabi, the two are complementary rather than competing priorities.
He described the relationship between viral content and paid opportunities as a “chicken and egg situation,” arguing that creators benefit from both forms of visibility and monetization.
“Whenever we have viral posts, we pray for paid content, and whenever we have paid content, we hope that we keep getting viral posts,” he said.
When pressed to choose between the two, Wasabi declined to pick one.
“I want both. I’m greedy like that,” he joked.
His position reflects a commercial reality for many digital creators. Viral content can expand audience reach, strengthen public recognition and attract new followers, while paid collaborations provide a more direct route to generating income from creative work.
Relying exclusively on either can limit a creator’s long-term prospects. Consistent viral visibility does not necessarily guarantee revenue, while an overdependence on sponsored content can make it difficult to maintain audience engagement and creative authenticity.
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Management also means protecting creators from bad deals
Wasabi also discussed the importance of having people who can help creators navigate the business and contractual aspects of their careers.
Although he is a trained lawyer, he acknowledged that he has people who review such matters on his behalf.
The discussion highlighted the role managers can play in protecting talent from agreements that may appear financially attractive but contain unfavourable terms.
Olufemi Oguntamu, CEO of Panzville Africa, who also participated in the session, described talent management as a responsibility that extends beyond securing commercial deals.
He said managers must sometimes advise creators against opportunities where the contractual obligations could create problems later.
His comments reinforced the broader point of the discussion: creators need to understand the commercial implications of the deals they sign and have trusted professionals who can help protect their interests.
The panel subsequently identified several contractual provisions as red flags, including brands editing creator content without approval, 12-month exclusivity without additional compensation, payment terms extending to 90 days, and perpetual worldwide usage rights.
Building sustainable careers in Africa’s creator economy
The ABF discussion also explored the gap between audience size and actual commercial value.
Gloria Adiambo, founder of Nova Bridge Digital Agency, argued that brands are increasingly prioritising measurable returns on investment rather than follower counts alone, particularly as concerns around artificial engagement and purchased followers grow.
Lulu Hangala Wood, founder of Wood Kitchen, offered another perspective, explaining that brands pay her for the loyal community she has built rather than simply because her content goes viral.
Together, the perspectives highlighted a growing shift in the creator economy: audience reach remains valuable, but trust, commercial relevance, strategic management and the ability to generate results are becoming increasingly important.
For Wasabi, however, the objective is not to choose between visibility and monetization. Both are necessary parts of building a sustainable creative business.
His remarks at ABF 2026 offered a practical perspective on an industry where creative talent increasingly intersects with entrepreneurship, intellectual property and digital business.
As Africa’s creator economy continues to expand, the challenge will be helping creators move beyond attention and build businesses that can generate lasting commercial value.
