Submissions are open for the 10th edition of the BAKE Awards, as new research puts Kenya’s digital content industry at about Sh1.27 trillion, or $9.8 billion.
The awards return to their January to June cycle after a late schedule in 2025. The theme this year is The creator economy: turning content into capital.
Figures cited from KNBS, Baraza Media Lab, PwC and UNESCO point to creators becoming a measurable part of the economy, alongside media, advertising and entertainment. The focus this year is on creators who run content as a business, not a side project.
BAKE chair Kennedy Kachwanya said the shift back to the earlier calendar is meant to give creators a predictable annual window to submit work and track progress. He said digital content now supports jobs and income, and should be treated as such.
The awards mark a decade since BAKE launched the programme to recognise online publishing and creator work in Kenya. Categories cover platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, podcasts, Spotify and blogs.
Key dates for the 2026 edition are set as follows.
-Launch on January 12.
-Submissions from January 12 to March 2.
-Judging from March 3 to April 3.
-Public voting from April 6 to May 29.
-Gala night on June 6.
The 2025 awards ended on December 13 and produced the first tie for Creator of the Year, shared by JoyRide Podcast and Sarah Njoroge. It reflected how crowded and competitive the space has become.
Past partners for the awards include Absa Bank Kenya, UNESCO, KICTANET, Baraza Media Lab and the Media Council of Kenya.
If content is now capital, who tracks its real value. And who gets left out as the bar keeps rising.
