Here's how TikTok has given SA youth platform to shine and redefine careers

In a country where unemployment has skyrocketed especially among the youth, this Youth Day TikTok has identified its users that are making major strides on the platform and have made a success of themselves by using the app.

TikTok is a short-form video-sharing app that enables users to share their lip-syncs, sketches, parodies and personal stories with sound bites or audio clips.

From ditching their nine-to-five jobs for content creation on the app to instant fame and business wit. Here are five content creators whose rise to popularity and business and tech savvy have caught the eye of the short-form video hosting service.

Chad Jones

Any trend or dance challenge that you can possible think of, Chad has done. Chad started by creating and choreographing amapiano dance videos with his family and, later, joined local dance TV show Dance Yodumo.

Khanyisa Jaceni

Khanyisa established her name after song releases and collaborations with some of the biggest stars in the SA music industry. She has donned many hats from MC, singer and more. 

Mpho_Pink

The lifestyle content creator with a focus on beauty marked her business on the platform and has grown her business.

Kayla Kim

Fashion-forward content creator and business owner for the ‘My Hunays’ fashion brand shared that she had always had an innate passion for fashion.

Noel Deyzel

Bodybuilder and fitness content creator, Noel, has taken to the platform to educate his fan base on fitness, health and diet.

Saul Moross, content & media partnerships lead for TikTok in Africa, explains that “the youth in SA have an innate determination to want to move forward and bring about change in many different areas of society”.

“As a global platform, we are always looking for initiatives to empower this determination and help content creators to capitalise on the burgeoning digital economy by optimising their talents and creativity. We look forward to seeing the next generation of digitally-savvy youth take over the business world.”

According to Sunday Times  TikTok embarked on a project last year.

In June, TikTok SA launched its inaugural Rising Voices programme: at the conclusion of an intensive six weeks of masterclasses and content curation, grant recipients were selected from 80 participating creators, all people of colour.

A total of 839-million views, 4.6-million new “follows” and 2.1-million shares came out of the initiative, which showcased a broad spectrum of SA talent.

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