Bloggers to be feted next month

What you need to know:

  • Bake Awards started in 2012 and has grown to attract creative talent from photographers to writers in the country. Last year, over 4800 blogs were entered into the competition and over 540,000 votes were recorded.
  • This year, there were over 10,000 entries and judges had to sift through 23 categories to pick 12 nominees.
  • Consequently, I decided to join forces with others to build a community of bloggers to promote local content and also use the strength in numbers to build a business case for it.

The Bloggers Association of Kenya Awards ceremony that seeks to recognise and reward online content creators is slated for next month.

Bake Awards started in 2012 and has grown to attract creative talent from photographers to writers in the country. Last year, over 4800 blogs were entered into the competition and over 540,000 votes were recorded.

This year, there were over 10,000 entries and judges had to sift through 23 categories to pick 12 nominees.

Winners will be announced at a gala event on May 13.  

We sat down for a talk with Kennedy Kachwanya, the chairman of the bloggers association on what motivated him to start the platform.

What motivated you to start BAKE?

To encourage the creation of local online content by Kenyans. Between 2010 and 2011, most of the available local talent was being done by foreigners mainly because blogging was not seen as a serious undertaking.  I wanted to change that. Consequently, I decided to join forces with others to build a community of bloggers to promote local content and also use the strength in numbers to build a business case for it.

What were the challenges?

Blogging as a business was not easy then for individuals because they had to compete with existing media and other emerging advertising platforms like Google. It also took us two years to get our registration certificate because we had to convince the government it was well intentioned. We also had to fund most of our operations for over two years from our pockets and that was tough.

Where did you start and where are you now?

We started with nothing, only a dedicated team of volunteers to make the blogging industry better. Now, we are in the process of hosting the 6th BAKE Awards. Now, there are 19,000 blogs in the country and we have trained over 5,000 bloggers over the years.

How many members of the team?

Eight, but only six are permanently employed.

What has been the success of the awards?

Discovering unknown blogs and giving them a platform to thrive and grow. The best content creators in Kenya have been recognised and awarded, consequently earning the industry the respect it deserves.

How many members do you have?

We have over 7,000 partial members and 800 permanent. The partial ones are registered on our web platform, but have not paid to be members. To register as a member, one pays Sh1,000.

Did you anticipate it could grow this way?

No, but I knew there was potential.

What is the age of the participants?

Majority are between 20 and 30 years, with a few in their 30s.

Are young Kenyans looking at it as a means of self-employment?

Yes. There are blogs that now employ young bloggers to write for them, and then there those who run their blogs on a full-time basis. At the same time, there a number of corporate or media houses that employ bloggers full time.

Is there money in blogging and what are the quick tips?

Yes. It is hard to say the exact amounts, but one or two bloggers claim they generate over Sh2 million a month. I am not in a position to verify that, but I know many people who live comfortably on their blogging work. The trick is to build good blog traffic and substantial following on social media. To do this one needs to define their goals, know your audience, be consistent, persistent, be visible and be yourself.  

Besides trophies, what are the other perks for winning?

With the help of partners, winners get something to take home. However, the greatest win is that they get more people looking out for their work.

How many categories do we have this year?

Twenty three, including technology, photography, creative writing, governance, best county, religious or spirituality, human rights, women and girls and empowerment, social issues and active citizenship.

How many sponsors do you have?

We have eight, but we are still looking for more. The ones already on board are Safaricom, Ford Motors, Showmax, Eatout, Xpose, Bill and Melinder Gates Foundation, Vivien Taa and Kenyan Human Rights Commission.

What other partnerships do you get into?

BAKE looks for business opportunities for the bloggers. We also partner with organisations which promote and defend Internet freedom such as InterNews, Hivos and Article 19.