Nestuge: A Bootstrapped Nigerian Startup Empowering Creators with Over ₦500 Million in Payouts
In a remarkable reversal of the popular ‘japa’ trend, Nelson Eze, Co-founder and CEO of Nestuge, chose to return to Nigeria with a vision: to build a startup that would significantly impact the local digital economy. That vision has materialized into Nestuge, a groundbreaking platform that has, within just two years, paid out an impressive ₦500 million to Nigerian digital creators, experts, and coaches, demonstrating a powerful commitment to fostering local talent and enabling direct monetization.
Addressing Nigeria’s Creator Monetisation Gap
The genesis of Nestuge can be traced back to a frustrating personal experience Eze encountered in 2021 while attempting to pay for an online class. He recounted to Techpoint Africa the cumbersome process, which involved direct bank transfers, sending proof of payment, and even screenshotting a creator’s WhatsApp status just to access account details. Recognizing this significant friction point in the burgeoning Nigerian creator space, Eze joined forces with Ruth Okoli and Jude Enete to establish Nestuge. As Eze himself articulated, “It’s a monetisation tool for digital creators, experts, and coaches. It helps them earn money from their audience.” He insightfully identified that while social media platforms excel at audience aggregation, they are fundamentally not designed for seamless monetization, particularly within the Nigerian context. This often leaves creators, even those with large followings – such as someone offering personal finance tips on X – struggling to convert their engagement into sustainable income. Nestuge was specifically engineered to bridge this gap, offering a streamlined solution where none adequately existed.
Nestuge’s success underscores the immense potential of Nigeria’s creator economy and the critical need for tailored fintech solutions. By addressing the unique challenges faced by local digital entrepreneurs, this bootstrapped startup is not only facilitating direct earnings for creators but also building a more robust and self-sustaining digital ecosystem within Nigeria, proving that innovation can thrive even against the current of outward migration.
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