Kenya cemented its dominance in Africa’s digital content economy after claiming two major awards at the 2025 TikTok Awards Sub-Saharan Africa held in Johannesburg.
John Maingi Mbugua @zozasportscast won the Sports Creator of the Year category after edging out Nigeria’s Victor Ademola @ademolavictortv.Mbugua, through his account creates Kenyan fan-led sports analysis which is popular among young online audiences.
In a interview, Mbugua told the press, “Winning isn’t the finish line, it’s fuel for the next chapter. Every piece of content, every discussion, every moment captured was driven by passion, and receiving this recognition means that passion is resonating far beyond my expectations.”
In the Rising Star category, Kenyan based Tunero Animations @tunero_animations took home the award ahead of Nigeria’s Esther Francis @estherfrancisbackup
Tunero Animations is behind productions such as “Bob Kichwa Ngumu”, an animated character story on TikTok. The awards under the theme “New Era, New Icons” recognised the most impactful and inspiring creators across Sub-Saharan Africa, celebrating creativity, community, and digital influence.
Head of TikTok Content Operations for Sub-Saharan Africa, Boniswa Sidwaba noted that African creators are helping reshape global views of the continent, and hailed them as “trailblazers who turned 60-second clips into cultural movements.” Creators were recognised across food, entertainment, education, sports and social impact sectors.
Fans across the continent decided the winners by voting once per category each day through the official TikTok Awards voting page.
Other winners included Social Impact Creator of the Year won by Dejoke Ogunbiyi @noositiwantiwa from Nigeria, Creator of the Year won by Raja’atu Muhammed Ibrahim @diaryofanortherncook from Nigeria, and Video of the Year won by Fanuel John Masamaki @zerobrainer0 from Tanzania.
Crown Uzama (Shallipopi) @theycallmeshallipopipp from Nigeria won Artist of the Year, while Izzi Boye @izziboye won in the Education Creator of the Year category.
