Affiliate Marketing is one of the most effective ways to make money online. Nowadays it’s not just a part time gig people do, some have built their careers around this and it has proved to be very lucrative if done right. Affiliate marketing programs in Kenya are feeding families.
Research conducted in 2016 revealed that 81% of companies and 84% of publishers (bloggers) leverage affiliate marketing as a major source of income. Also considering that 85% of online shoppers check Google for information on products before purchase, this industry is a money cow for bloggers and influencers.
There exist numerous affiliate marketing programs around the world with some of the largest networks originating from USA. They include Amazon, ClickBank, ShareASale and Awin. Annually companies spend tens of billions in affiliate marketing and there is a steady increase in this amount year after year.
In Kenya, the affiliate marketing industry in my view has not yet reached its full potential. Although there exists a number of big affiliate programs, almost none of them seems as lucrative as international affiliate networks.
Businesses might be a little shy using the marketing strategy to acquire businesses or if they do, they limit the budget which in turn results to unattractive commissions which discourage Kenyans.
Nonetheless there is an apparent increase in number of brands such as Equity Bank, that are incorporating some form of referral reward systems which is a form of affiliate marketing. This can only mean that the marketing strategy is still growing and the future is bright.
Here is a clear explanation of how affiliate marketing in Kenya works.
Now, let’s find out the top affiliate programs in Kenya, how they work and how lucrative they are to be considered as a reliable source of income for passionate Kenyan bloggers and influencers.
1. Jumia Affiliate Program.
The obvious service that tops the best affiliate marketing programs in Kenya. Jumia is the largest ecommerce in the African continent and became the first African company to be listed on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange). The online mega mall is considered Africa’s Amazon with presence in over 10 top African economies.
It was only logical for the company to introduce an affiliate marketing program similar to Amazon in a bid to expand their footprint and generate more sales. This was done in November 2014 and today, Jumia’s affiliate program has become the biggest and most lucrative affiliate marketing program
Jumia’s Affiliate program is mostly suited for publishers. Niche bloggers (writers who specialize of unique tops) join the platform to promote products related to their niches. For instance, top Kenyan tech blogger Martin Gicheru who runs techweez.com, can write review articles of latest smartphone and provide links to Jumia where readers can check out the gadgets and buy after which he earns a commission.
Below are the commission rates for affiliates based in Kenya; they range from a minimum of 1.5% for events and tickets to 10% for unisex accessories.
Jumia has an elaborate affiliate program with a cookie life of 7 days and moderately good commissions compared to other international affiliate networks such as Amazon Affiliate Program. Also, you not only earn a commission for the product the customer purchase, but also anything they purchase from Jumia within the next 7 days.
2. Kenya Web Experts Affiliate Program
A recognized domain registrar and hosting company in the country, Kenya Web Experts would be incomplete without an affiliate program. The company which hosts websites belonging to prominent politicians, top celebrities, big brands and county governments is considered a top local solution for website matters.
Kenya Web Experts has a simple rewarding system which anybody can join even without necessarily having a hosting package with the company. For every customer that signs up for a package with the hosting company, you earn a 15% commission on the cost of the package they purchase. Thus gives you a minimum commission of Ksh 315 to a maximum of Ksh 2000.
Website building is not an activity that most people undertake but with the current rise in numbers of people interested with online jobs, this affiliate program can become lucrative for those teaching people how to build blogs and earn money online. I’m definitely in that category and I’m already part of the affiliate program, thanks for asking.
3. Travelstart Affiliate Program
Before the business idea of Travel Agency was popularized by the great success of Bornfire Adventures, Travelstart was at the top. Launched in 1999, the company still maintains a reputations as a top destination for local and international traveling solutions.
Meanwhile, the growing popularity of travel bloggers and their lucid dream lives has attracted many Kenyans into traveling as an essential part of their lives. This probably necessitated Travelstart to introduce its affiliate marketing program to acquire customers who love to Google for destinations and organize trips online.
The affiliate program is quite good in my opinion; it pays Ksh 400 for every domestic booking and Ksh 1200 for every international booking. It is powered by Impact Radius, an international SaaS company offering affiliate marketing tools to businesses and brands.
Anybody can join the program for free but it is mostly suited for publishers and bloggers with a good amount of following since they convert better. Payments are made monthly but you have the liberty of specifying the threshold in a bid to accumulate your earnings.
Join Travelstart Affiliate Marketing
4. Truehost Cloud Affiliate Program
Another major domain registrar and hosting company is Truehost. This local brand has built a reputation around offering the most affordable hosting services making it a favorite for your bloggers and upcoming developers. For instance, its Silver package costs just Ksh 1499 for an entire year. So it isn’t a secret why it has more than 30K clients from 5 continents
In the spirit of desiring to grow, Truehost implemented an affiliate program to try and capture more customers. The program which assures affiliates a recurring commission of 10% for every order paid for is enough to put some extra coins in your pocket every month.
It might not seem much but considering the affordability, it becomes easier to convince price sensitive Kenyans to join the network. Commissions are calculated as a percentage of the service a customer subscribes to up to a maximum of USD 100. You can withdraw your earnings weekly once you reach the threshold of USD 20.
Join Truehost Cloud Affiliate Program
5. IPay Affiliate Program
IPay is an online payments processing solution that incorporates Visa, Mastercard, eLipa, Kenswitch, Mpesa and Airtel Money all packaged under one point of sale transaction processing gateway to enable easy money transfer across Africa.
Due to its unique form of business, IPay’s affiliate program is designed to pay affiliates a percentage of the transaction fees subjected on merchants who use the platform for payments. Luckily, these commissions are awarded throughout the lifetime of the merchant. Here’s how it works.
You first sign up as an affiliate. Then you recruit merchants (businesspersons) by creating an account for them and using your RC code in the process. This account is activated within 48 hours after which your dashboard will be updated to include the merchant’s details. From this point, for every transaction the merchant undertakes, you earn a 10% commission on the transaction costs IPay charges them.
This affiliate program is a little sluggish and hard to deal with. It requires you to create the account of your referee and takes 48 hours to be activated. That’s rather sad. IPay should come up with a better and less involving system.
Nonetheless we can’t deny that a good salesperson who can convince a big company to use IPay services will reap a fortune without ever lifting a finger after the initial effort. That’s the kind of passive income every digital nomad dreams of.
6. Paxful Affiliate Program
With cryptocurrencies becoming more popular by the day, many people have turned to them in a bid to make a living. Blockchain technology which is behind these real digital currencies has revolutionized the internet and offered solutions to problems that have troubled us for decades. Africa has not been left behind in this new development which is why new solutions such as Paxful have been launched to serve Africans.
Paxfull is a peer to peer cryptocurrency platform which essentially means; it connects people online to transact in crypto. It also functions as an online crypto currency wallet; one of the best digital wallets in Kenya.
At the moment it majorly transacts with Bitcoin, the most popular and valuable crypto. Since the crypto industry is taking over the world with a storm, it was only logical for Paxful to introduce an affiliate program that would encourage customers to spread the gospel and bring more people into the future of money.
The Paxful affiliate marketing program pays affiliates a whopping 50% of the escrow or transaction fees every time one of your affiliates buys bitcoin through the platform. On top of that, for every bitcoin purchase a tier 2 affiliate (customer referred by your affiliate) does, you get 10 % of the escrow fees.
This a very lucrative deal on the part of affiliates and sacrificial on the part of the company. If you dive into the cryptocurrency industry as a blogger and expert in the making, it’s only about a year or two and you will be an influencer in the industry which means working as a Paxful affiliate would easily make you a millionaire.
Join Paxful Affiliate Program.
These are just a few of the popular affiliate programs in the country; I will be adding more with time.