Tayo Aina, a Nigerian YouTube creator and filmmaker, has evolved from documenting travel experiences to building technology driven solutions for Africa’s growing creator economy. His journey began in 2018 when he travelled to Russia during the FIFA World Cup under a temporary visa free arrangement that allowed ticket holders with FAN IDs to enter the country. The trip, funded with about ₦300,000 saved from filmmaking side jobs, marked his first time outside Africa and reshaped his ambition to showcase African stories from a local perspective.
Before gaining prominence on YouTube, Aina worked in the technology sector and founded Spacebook, an events and accommodation booking platform he described as an African alternative to Airbnb. After the venture stalled, he worked as an Uber driver in Lagos in 2017, where he began filming locations he visited and uploading short videos online. His audience expanded significantly in April 2018 after he released footage from American rapper J Cole’s visit to Nigeria, a video that attracted about one million views within days.
Aina’s content later expanded beyond Nigeria to other African countries. During an extended stay in South Africa in 2020 caused by the COVID 19 lockdown, he launched the Made in Africa series, profiling African entrepreneurs and small business owners. The series contributed to rapid subscriber growth, and by late 2020 his channel had surpassed 100,000 subscribers and qualified for monetisation.
In 2022, Aina launched the YouTube Creator Academy, an online programme designed to train aspiring content creators on audience growth and monetisation strategies. The platform recorded 100 signups within its first two weeks and was later restructured in 2024 to include updated course materials, weekly coaching sessions and a remote support team spanning multiple countries.
Aina has since expanded into technology development for creators, launching Leenkies, a link in bio platform that enables users to manage payments and digital information without commission fees. He said his long term focus is on building infrastructure that supports content distribution and monetisation for African creators, positioning his ventures at the intersection of media and technology