Creators can now make money from videos on Substack

Salama,

Victoria from Techpoint here,

Here’s what I’ve got for you today:

Creators can now make money from videos on Substack
Jumia’s revenue drops by 10% in 2024
Airtel Nigeria’s revenue drops by 40.3%

Creators can now make money from videos on Substack

Looks like Substack is making a big move to attract creators. The platform just rolled out a feature that lets creators monetise their videos and post them straight from the Substack app.

Previously, you could only share videos in Notes (Substack’s Twitter-style feed), but Notes doesn’t support paywalls or notify subscribers. Now, with video posts, creators can reach their audience directly and get paid for their content.

Substack is pitching itself as a great alternative for TikTok creators who want to build a subscription-based video business without depending on unpredictable algorithms. Once you post a video, you can track views, new subscribers, and even estimate your revenue from paid sign-ups.

At the moment, videos can only be fully paywalled, but Substack plans to add a preview feature, so free subscribers can get a teaser before deciding to pay. They’re also working on editing tools and better analytics to help creators optimise their content.

Substack has been pushing video since 2022, and it’s clearly working. The company says creators who add video and audio grow their revenue 2.5x faster than those who don’t. In fact, as of February 2025, 82% of Substack’s highest-earning creators use video and/or audio.

This move is part of Substack’s bigger push to attract creators. Last month, they launched a $20 million Creator Accelerator Fund to help content creators transition without losing money. They also recently made livestreaming available to all publishers.

Jumia’s revenue drops by 10% in 2024

Jumia delivery — Source: Jumia Group website

Jumia’s revenue took a 10% hit in 2024, dropping to $167.5 million as the company stuck to its cost-cutting strategy. On the bright side, its operating loss also shrank by 10% to $66 million, showing some improvement in efficiency.

Last year, Jumia pulled out of South Africa and Tunisia to focus on bigger markets like Nigeria, Egypt, and Morocco. CEO Francis Dufay defended the move, saying it made sense to concentrate on markets with better growth and profitability potential.

Despite exiting those countries, Jumia only saw a slight drop in active customers, from 5.7 million in 2023 to 5.4 million in 2024. However, its total sales value (GMV) fell 4% to $720.6 million, though the real impact was deeper when adjusted for currency devaluations and lower corporate sales in Egypt.

On a more positive note, orders grew by 6% to 22.7 million, with more customers outside big cities driving the growth. In Q4 2024, 56% of all orders came from upcountry regions, up from 49% the year before. Jumia East Africa’s CEO, Vinod Goel, highlighted the trend in January 2025, saying people in smaller towns are choosing Jumia for its cheaper prices on everyday items.

JumiaPay also saw a boost, with transactions up 20% to 10.1 million and total payment volume rising slightly to $195.4 million. The company credits this to a smoother user experience and rolling out JumiaPay on delivery to push more cashless payments.

Looking ahead to 2025, Jumia expects GMV to grow between 10% and 15%, landing between $795 million and $830 million. The plan is to double down on rural expansion, offer more competitively priced products, and strengthen partnerships with international sellers, all while keeping costs in check and improving marketing efficiency.

Airtel Nigeria’s revenue drops by 40.3%

Airtel Nigeria had a rough 2024, with revenue dropping by a massive 40.3% to $738 million from $1.24 billion in 2023. The main culprit? The severe devaluation of the naira, which lost over 40% of its value.

Interestingly, despite the revenue hit, Airtel actually gained more customers. Its user base grew by 3.2% to 52.1 million, and people used way more data — average usage per customer jumped 37.2% to 8.4GB per month. Smartphone adoption also increased, with nearly half (49.5%) of Airtel’s users now on smartphones.

If you strip away the currency devaluation and look at constant currency terms, Airtel Nigeria’s revenue actually grew by 35%, which shows that demand for its services is still strong. But with the naira in freefall, the numbers look much worse when converted to dollars.

Airtel’s gain before expenses (EBITDA) took a 46.4% hit, dropping to $360 million. Margins also shrank, thanks to rising costs, especially diesel, which shot up by 60%.

To deal with the financial squeeze, Airtel increased its voice and data tariffs by up to 50%, in line with a recent Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) directive. The goal is to help telcos stay afloat while keeping services accessible to consumers.

Even with all these challenges, Airtel is holding steady. More Nigerians are using its services, data demand keeps rising, and the company is adapting to the tough economy. The big question now is whether the price hikes will be enough to balance out the impact of the currency crisis.

What I’m watching

If you’re ambitious but lazy, please watch this video…
Do You Talk to Yourself? Here’s How to Harness Your Inner Voice | Ethan Kross | TED

Opportunities

YC is offering summer grants this year to support undergraduate computer science and engineering students. Apply here.
Lagos Business School has several openings. Apply here.
IHS Towers is looking to fill different positions across Africa. Apply here.
Kuda is hiring a content editor. Apply here.
Selar is giving out 5 million naira in tuition support to 50 final-year Nigerian students through the Selar Tuition Fund. Apply here.
Bamboo is looking for a Senior treasury and settlement associate. Apply here.
Paystack is hiring for several roles. Apply here.
Lendsqr is hiring for different roles. Apply here.
Taptap Send is hiring a regional director. Apply here.
MTN is hiring for several positions. Apply here.
PalmPay is looking for an asset officer. Apply here.
Vesti is hiring a Sales Executive. Apply here.
FairMoney is looking for Business Operations Manager. Apply here.
Paga is hiring for several roles, including CRO, Treasury Manager, and Doroki Growth Manger. Apply here.
AltSchool Africa is hiring several instructors. Apply here.
Moniepoint is hiring for several roles. Apply here.
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