Lagos, Nigeria (CNN)In Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, an emerging crop of young comics are leveraging social media to create video content that makes people laugh -- and makes money.
What started as a hobby is now turning into a lucrative business opportunity. By leaning on the growing internet access across the continent, these comics are creating characters and skits on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter that can be sold to brands.
Three Nigerian comics -- Ope Keshinro, Tobi Olubiyi and Koye Kekere-Ekun -- recently spoke to CNN about using smartphones to generate laughs and grow their audiences.
Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial center, Koye Kekere-Ekun wanted to be a footballer.
Kekere-Ekun, 34, eventually put his dream on pause to toe the family line and become a lawyer. While working at a law firm in 2013, he acted on a random idea that changed everything.
"I just posted a video of myself imitating this Indian Canadian comedian, Russell Peters ... And at the time, I guess my followers responded to it -- they liked it," he said.
Now with more than 100,000 followers across Twitter and Instagram, his videos, usually laced with dry humor, sometimes go viral.
The comic says he gets paid to create video content on Twitter and Instagram by working with brands to incorporate a product or service in his comedy. When he once asked his followers what they thought of his "K10" brand, "someone just replied and said 'Humor, sense, nonsense.' And I thought that...
Read Full Story: https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/06/africa/nigeria-comedy-social-media-spc-intl/index.html
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