Top 10 Affiliate Marketing Programs in Kenya

Affiliate marketing in Kenya is one of the many ways to earn passive income. We all strive to make that extra money without having to put in a lot of active effort. Ideally, growing your passive income levels is among the key ways to achieving financial freedom.

Affiliate marketing works well for people with active social media presence and blogs as they can use them as marketing platforms. It is more of an online business that is gaining popularity across the world.

As a top country in internet usage, Kenya is among the top African countries with a developed affiliate marketing industry employing thousands of people. As the access to internet grows across the country, affiliate marketing opportunities are likely to increase in the future.

This article will focus on understanding what affiliate marketing is and the top 10 affiliate marketing programs in Kenya.

What is Affiliate Marketing? 

Affiliate marketing is when you market a company’s products or services and earn a commission whenever a customer makes a purchase through your affiliate link. Signing up for an affiliate program makes you an affiliate marketer. Sounds very easy, right?

Signing up for an affiliate program is a simple process. You only need to find a platform where to market the program to potential customers. Some of the platforms to do marketing are blogs (if you have one) and social media platforms.

When you sign up for an affiliate program, you might come across the term ‘cookie days’. ‘Cookie days’ this refers to the number of days that the cookie will be monitoring the online activity of the user who clicks on your affiliate link.

For you to earn the commission, the visitor should make a purchase within the number of ‘cookie days’, or else the cookie will not track the purchase.

You should be aware that success in affiliate marketing requires consistent effort to start making adequate income. It is important to remember that affiliate marketing is a business and requires time to become profitable.

Contrary to what some people put it, affiliate marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It needs effort and patience to succeed.

Let us now look at the top 10 affiliate programs that operate within Kenya.

1. Jumia Affiliate Program 

• Commission amount: 2-13% depending on the product category
• Number of cookie days: 7 days 

Jumia is an online e-commerce platform where sellers and buyers interact through buying and selling of products.

how to sell your products on Jumia.

It is also the first African company to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Jumia launched its affiliate program in November 2014, and since then, many Kenyans have signed up as affiliate marketers.

Since Jumia deals with a wide array of products, you can advertise products from any specific niche that you like. Jumia offers some of the best commission rates in the market in comparison to its peers.  

As a market leader of online shopping in Kenya, Jumia is an attractive source for affiliate marketing business.

How to join the Jumia affiliate program

Sign up for the affiliate program on the register button. Once you have created an affiliate account, you can choose your product preference to market.

How you earn commission

You earn a commission every time a customer purchases a product through your affiliate link. The amount of commission you earn is dependent on the category of the product purchased.

Another advantage of Jumia is that you also earn a commission on all the products that your referral purchases on Jumia within the 7 cookie days. Jumia pays out commission through M-Pesa or local bank transfer.

2. HostFiti website builder

• Commission amount: 20-25%
• Number of cookie days: 45 days 

HostFiti is a website builder that allows users to create and host websites at a fee. It has one of the best affiliate commission rates in Kenya, making it enticing to affiliate marketers. A key point to note is that HostFiti only pays commissions for subscriptions only.  

How to join the HostFiti affiliate program

Affiliate page of the HostFiti website. After joining the program, you get access to your affiliate dashboard from where you can analyze your referral sales and commission earned.

How you earn commission

For the first 10 successful referrals, you earn a 20% commission after which the commission increases to 25%. A key advantage of the HostFiti affiliate program is that the commissions are recurring. This happens every month the referral makes a renewal.

However, should your referral choose to upgrade to a different HostFiti package, you do not earn a commission. Commissions are paid on the 15th of every month, via PayPal or M-pesa. There is also no minimum withdrawal limit, meaning you can withdraw all your commissions once.

3. Kilimall Affiliate Program

• Commission amount: 2-8% depending on the product category
• Number of cookie days: 30 days 

Kilimall is an online shopping platform, which is slightly similar to Jumia. It has operations in several African countries such as Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria. Kilimall has beginner affiliates training program targeted to enable them grow their earnings.

How to join the Kilimall affiliate program

Kilimall affiliate program on their website. Upon successful approval, advertise Kilimall products using the wide range of banners and promotional links that Kilimall provides.

Due to the flexibility of the Kilimall affiliate program, it allows you to advertise the products on simple platforms such as WhatsApp.

How you earn commission

You make a commission for every successful sale on your affiliate link. You can also monitor the income regularly by checking the affiliate account.

Kilimall pays commission through various channels such as PayPal or M-Pesa.  

Commissions are paid on the 15th day of every month.However, there are pushed to the next day if the 15^th is a weekend.

4. Travelstart

• Commission amount: Flat rate of KES 400 for a domestic booking and KES 1200 for an international booking.
• Number of cookie days: Information is not available

Travelstart is an online travel agency that offers flights booking, hotel booking, car rentals, and holiday packages info to travelers. It is a very lucrative affiliate program for anyone venturing in the traveling niche.

The Travelstart affiliate program even allows affiliate marketers to offer vouchers as an incentive to potential customers.

How to join the Travelstart affiliate program

Travelstart Partner page on their website, and fill in the registration form. Upon submitting the application form, the affiliate manager contacts you with the confirmation details.

If successful, Travelstart will send marketing creatives that you can use to advertise on your platforms e.g. banners, text links, and XML feeds. 

Travelstart also gives the personal login details to your affiliate account. Unlike other affiliate programs, the Travelstart affiliate program provides a personal manager to help with guidance on the marketing.

This is a useful element especially for beginners who lack experience in this business.

How you earn commission

Although you can promote all the Travelstart packages, you will only receive commissions for the flight bookings. Payment is made monthly, usually within the first ten working days of the month. The commission is paid through M-Pesa, electronic funds transfer, and credit cards.

5. Kenya website experts

• Commission amount- 15%
• Number of cookie days -no information available

Kenya Website Experts is the largest web hosting and domain registration company in Kenya. To help increase their customer base and their revenue in turn, Kenya website experts offer an affiliate program. This affiliate program is particularly lucrative for affiliates who run blogs in the tech niche.

How to join the Kenya website experts affiliate program

Affiliate program page on their website. You do not need to have a registered hosting account with them to register as an affiliate. Once you sign up for the affiliate account, you can view your referral statistics and earnings on your accounts dashboard.

How you earn commission

Every time a customer purchases a service from Kenya Website Experts through your referral link, you earn a commission. The maximum amount you can earn from a referral is KES 2,000. They normally payout through PayPal or credit card.

6. SkyHost

• Commission amount- up to 50% depending on the product purchased
• Number of cookie days: 90 days 

SkyHost is also a web hosting company in Kenya just like Kenya Website Experts. They have an affiliate program that helps them acquire more customers while also helping their affiliates earn an extra penny on the side.

How to join the SkyHost affiliate program

Affiliate program page of the SkyHost website. Once you submit your application, you will get access to your affiliate account from where you can analyze your referral statistics.

How you earn commission

You earn a commission on every purchase made through your affiliate link. The amount of money you earn depends on the product that the customer purchases. SkyHost has a minimum withdrawal limit of KES 3, 000.

They also pay out the commission via PayPal and M-pesa. However, you can only withdraw your commission 31 days after meeting the minimum withdrawal limits.

7. KenyaPesa

• Commission amount: CAD 5.00
• Number of cookie days: No information was given 

KenyaPesa is an online site that allows you to send money to Kenya fast and cheaply from your bank account. They deliver funds within a day via M-Pesa, Airtel money, bank transfer, or cash pick up from one of their agents and without hidden charges.

How to join the KenyaPesa affiliate program

Free account on their website. Login to your account and go to the Member’s section, where you will find your affiliate link.

How you earn commission

For every customer that uses your referral link to register to KenyaPesa, you earn CAD 5.00 upon completing the first order. The minimum withdrawal limit for KenyaPesa affiliates is $10.

8. Binance

• Commission amount- 30-50% depending on the commodity
• Number of cookie days- 90 days

Cryptocurrency has become a key industry in the world of finance and investments. Binance is an international cryptocurrency trading platform. In 2020, they introduced an affiliate program in 5 African countries, with Kenya being among those countries.

How to become a Binance affiliate

Submit your application on Binance Affiliate program page. However, the Binance Affiliate program has some minimum requirements that need to be met before you get accepted into the program.

For any individual applying to become a Binance affiliate, you must have a minimum of 5000 on one or more social media platforms e.g. Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram

How you earn commission

Anyone who clicks on your affiliate link and registers for an account becomes your referral. You will earn a commission for every trade that your referral makes. The commission that you earn depends on the commodity that your referral buys. However, unlike other affiliate programs, Binance pays you in cryptocurrency.

• Spot commission-up to 50%
• Futures commission-30%
• Binance pool commission-30%

9. Fiverr

• Commission amount- depends on the product/service category
• Number of cookie days: 30 days 

Fiverr is the largest global marketplace for freelancers. Freelancers post their skills and hourly fee on Fiverr and then buyers buy the services from them. Fiverr affiliates earn different amounts depending on the services they choose to promote.

How to sign up for the Fiverr affiliate program

Affiliate page of the Fiverr website. Once you submit the form, sign in and start promoting Fiverr services including Fiverr, Fiverr Business, Fiverr Pro, Learn from Fiverr.

You can observe and analyze your statistics from the affiliate dashboard section of your account.

How to earn commission

The commission earned depends on the action made by your referral. As a Fiverr affiliate, you earn a fixed amount of money per new buyer that you refer, between $15-$150, depending on the category of the service they purchase.

Fiverr pays out commission via PayPal, Payoneer, or bank account. In case you already have a Fiverr account, you might also consider joining Fiverr’s referral program, which offers an additional opportunity to earn money by referring people to Fiverr. Fiverr has a minimum payout of $100.

10. Ipay Africa

• Commission amount: 10% 
• Number of cookie days

Ipay is an online payment platform in Africa that incorporates many payment options including M-pesa, Airtel money, visa, and MasterCard. Ipay Africa’s affiliates earn their commission from the merchants who use their platform for a transaction.

How to join the Ipay Africa affiliate program

Affiliate registration page on their website by filling in your details. Once approved, you will have access to your dashboard from where you can trace your recruited merchants.

How you earn commission

Ipay Africa is slightly different from other affiliate programs in that, it is the affiliate marketer who creates the referral’s account. This makes the program more involving than other affiliate programs.

Once you create the account for your referred merchant, you need to wait for 24-48 hours for the merchant account to get activated. The activation process will be confirmed through an SMS or email notification, and you begin earning a 10% commission on every transaction that the merchant makes.

Conclusion on Affiliate marketing in Kenya

From this list, there are several affiliate programs to choose from as a way to make passive income. However, before you choose which affiliate program is best for you, you should consider some key elements such as your key niche interest, the marketing platform, and the amount of money you want to make.

Remember that affiliate marketing in Kenya takes time before you can get optimal results. The amount of income is dependent on your hard work and the marketing strategy that you deploy.