In recent years, Kenyans have proven to be reluctant to make digital product investments. Kenyans will hardly pay for online platforms or even software.
For instance, on Wednesday, Google Africa announced the official debut of YouTube Premium and YouTube Premium music in Kenya.
Upon this announcement, Kenyans took it to social media to display their disappointment in the company’s move, with some boasting about purchasing YouTube Premium illegally way before this update. Others have frowned upon the fact that iOS users are charged in dollars, while others have made it clear that paying for apps is not a priority.
”Ni unga tutanunua ama ni YouTube tutalipia?” One tweet said: This loosely translates to “Are we going to pay for flour or YouTube?”
So how is it that Kenyans frown upon paying for software and applications that we so clearly use on a daily basis? You would be so amazed to find big corporate companies and organizations using cracked versions of software and applications.
One of the major reasons for this occurrence would be our prevalent piracy culture. Piracy is a form of digital theft that misappropriates creative work without fair compensation for the work’s creators and rights holders.
On a surface level, it seems harmless to own all these software and apps for free, but it is harmful to the financial performance of the software and digital media industries, and, additionally, it discourages these industries from investing more resources in new product development, which causes stagnant innovation.
The other most obvious reason is that the average income level often restricts individuals and households from investing in paid digital products. Disparities in income distribution widen the gap, leaving a substantial portion of the population with minimal financial resources.
As a result, the affordability of software and apps becomes a luxury rather than a necessity. This economic constraint leads to a preference for free alternatives or unauthorized access through piracy, as spending on software is often considered a non-feasible expense.
Until income levels rise and economic stability improves across demographics, the affordability of software and apps will remain a challenge for many Kenyans.
Have you ever wondered why content creators from western countries earn more than our local creators, who have the same number of followers? One reason would be the ripple effect of our adamancy about paying for and subscribing to digital products. We lack the culture of paying for subscriptions, and consequently, we limit our creative industry.
All in all, we are yet to see if Kenyans will jump on the bandwagon of subscribing for content. Bridging this gap requires addressing affordability concerns, enhancing trust in digital transactions, showcasing the value proposition of paid services, and potentially adapting pricing models to align with Kenyan economic realities.
Establishing a culture of fair compensation for digital services and emphasizing the tangible benefits of paid apps could gradually shift the perception, encouraging more Kenyans to invest in digital content and software.
