This weekend, the nominees for the 2026 South African Social Media Awards were unveiled in Rosebank, and the list tells a much bigger story than simply who might leave with a trophy in November. 

Creators are now building audiences and businesses across education, gaming, podcasting, fashion, food, sport, photography, radio and kasi content. In a country where almost one in every two young people in the labour market cannot find work, social media is becoming more than somewhere to be seen. For some South Africans, it is becoming a workplace, a storefront, a production studio and an entry point into the economy. 

But how much of the creator economy is a sustainable industry, and how much of it is still built on unpredictable algorithms, unpaid labour and the hope that something goes viral?

Joining 5 Breakfast is media entrepreneur, voice-over artist and Co-Founder and Director of the South African Social Media Awards, WEZA MATOMANE.