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Nameless, Dennis Ombachi and Arap Uria open up on their TikTok journey


Embracing TikTok, a short-form video hosting service, has accelerated Kenyan celebrities’ growth and content creation.

Online content consumption is also rising as the world shifts to the digital space.

This is why the majority of celebrities are embracing the app in a bid to remain relevant to their followers daily.

During a workshop organised by TikTok at the Mövenpick Hotel & Residences Nairobi, top TikTokers shared their journey on the app.

David Mathenge, better known by his stage name Nameless, Dennis Ombachi, aka Roaming Chef, and Arap Uria, shared their experience on growing their audiences on TikTok and creating a niche for themselves.

To the three, TikTok has been a game of exploration and a field of showing off their talents to the world.

Also read: Kenyan woman on TikTok defends unconventional hairstyle of braiding hair with shoe laces

Posting videos, which range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes, has been a mind-blowing activity for the three.

Rugby player Dennis Ombachi and his wife Svetlana Polikarpova during the Tiktok Top Creator 2022 Awards at Mövenpick Residences Nairobi on Saturday, January 14, 2023. PHOTO| DENNIS ONSONGO

According to Ombachi, known for his cooking videos, getting a million likes was a surprise.

“It was a big shock to me. My video becoming the topic of the day made me happy. I received savage posts but that never killed my dream to post my cooking skills on TikTok,” said Ombachi.

“My first video was good, but the comments made me think twice. What made me really focus more on TikTok was one million followers,” commented Ombachi.

TikTok, according to Ombachi, is not biased because it accommodates everybody.

“People really don’t care about who you are on TikTok. All they care about is your content. This motivates me so much,” added Ombachi.

Also read: We smell money! Kenyan TikToker urged to sue French company illegally using her image

On the other hand, comedian Arap Uria said that TikTok had motivated him to create more content.

“I realized people loved my content and that made me push harder. You can excel through the App,” said Arap Uria.

For Nameless, TikTok has been a game changer.

He revealed that the more people love his content, the more he pushes himself to create.

He noted that all that matters on TikTok is consistency.

“For you to remain relevant on TikTok you have to create content and post them consistently. You have to remain relevant to your followers by feeding them content,” Nameless said.

The workshop was held hours before the African TikTok creators were crowned at TikTok’s inaugural #TopCreator2022 – an award ceremony that recognises and awards content creators across Sub-Saharan Africa for the immense talent and creativity they brought to the platform in the past year.

Winners of Tiktok Top Creator 2022 Awards at Movenpick Residences Nairobi on Saturday, January 14, 2023. PHOTO DENNIS ONSONGO

Boniswa Sidwaba, TikTok’s Content Programming Lead, Sub-Saharan Africa, shares that: “This award ceremony is TikTok’s way of recognising storytellers, creativity, and the positive impact all creators bring to the TikTok community.

We are thrilled to be celebrating our creators, who have been the driving force behind some of the exciting trends for 2022. With these inaugural awards, TikTok aims to give creators in Sub-Saharan Africa the recognition they deserve and to encourage them to tell the African story while spreading joy at all times.”

The Roaming Chef was crowned the Sub-Saharan Africa Winner.

Also read: How you can remain relevant on TikTok