Selar, an eCommerce platform for digital creators, announced a payout of ₦9.8 billion in 2024, more than double the ₦4 billion disbursed in 2023.
Founded in 2016 by Douglas Kendyson, the company has experienced remarkable growth, consistently doubling its creator payouts annually since 2022, thanks to effective marketing and strategic partnerships.
In a social media update, the company announced a 55.73% increase in total transactions for 2024, reaching 629,000. Additionally, the platform saw a 60.78% growth in the number of creators, bringing the total to 241,000.
The platform is now accessible in 194 countries, supports 13 currencies, and has seen a 72% increase in total users, reaching 1.5 million.
Although the company was established in 2016, it experienced significant growth starting in 2020, four years later.
In January 2021, the company shared with Techpoint Africa that it had 17,000 users and $240,000 in revenue. Kendyson, a Paystack co-founder, launched the platform after noticing a growing demand from Paystack users seeking to sell digital products.
In a conversation with Techpoint Africa, Kendyson remarked, “There are so many people creating value in various ways now. People are spending up to half a million naira on coaching and membership programs. It’s surprising because you’d think Nigerians wouldn’t have the money for that, but the number of people paying for such services is astonishing.”
Kendyson’s insight proved accurate. By 2022, Selar achieved profitability without any external funding, apart from the $10,000 grant it received from Tony Elumelu in 2018.
In a 2024 interview with Rest of World, Kendyson shared that by 2022, Selar had achieved profitability. He remarked, “I enjoyed the autonomy. We have enough funds to sustain ourselves, and there’s no need for us to seek additional investment.”
Selar plans to launch new features to better support creators, including an upgraded page builder to streamline sales funnels. Additionally, the platform will offer French translations for its Francophone African users.