In 2020, as COVID-19 spread globally, people were confined to their homes, and restricted from going anywhere to prevent the spread of the pandemic. Many began searching for activities to overcome boredom.
During this time, TikTok gained popularity as many people started posting videos, predominantly humorous ones, providing an entertaining distraction during the intense pandemic.
Among those who joined TikTok then was Kimenyi Tito, who used the platform as a way to entertain people and alleviate his own boredom without any further objectives.
Those following the platform in 2021 would have seen Kimenyi Tito’s videos where he humorously imitated teachers, significantly growing his account and making him a beloved comedian in Rwanda and beyond.
Kimenyi mentioned that the popularity of his videos encouraged him to invest more effort, leading him to create unique content not typically seen by others, specifically imitating teachers.
He said, “The videos I made that gained popularity were ones where I was giving out grades to students—praising the successful ones, and for those who failed, I would throw their papers at them while scolding them harshly.”
“I put a lot of effort into innovating and changing what I do, like if today I’m playing a teacher, tomorrow I might switch to playing students, always changing it up to keep it fresh for my audience.”
Currently, Kimenyi Tito is a prominent social media influencer, with over 107,000+ followers on TikTok, and his videos have garnered over two million views. On Instagram, he has more than 60,000 followers, and on YouTube, his series ‘Gogo na Coco’ has over 35,000 followers.
He stated that increasing his follower count quickly required a lot of work and creativity in his content, which has become quite profitable for him.
“I put a lot of effort into posting on social media; if I do something today, tomorrow I have to do something different to keep my followers happy,” he explained.
“I earn money through social media, which supports my everyday life, meaning you can use it to make an income. For instance, in a good month, I can earn between 600,000 and 700,000 Rwandan Francs.”
Kimenyi also uses his experience to advise his peers that using social media wisely can be very beneficial.
“Social media has its good and bad sides, so it’s better to focus on the good because that’s what’s most important. If you come with a specific purpose, work towards it and don’t get discouraged.”
Kimenyi Tito says that social media has become his daily job due to various advertising campaigns. The most money he has made through advertising ranges between 1 million and 2 million Rwandan Francs.
