Is it possible and safe for Africans to try out earning an income through affiliate marketing?

Hi! I live in the USA, but I have many Christian friends in Africa, etc. who are very, very poor, and jobless. Do you think they could earn a living through becoming affiliate marketers online - in programs that are free to start? Like Clickbank? And do you think it would be safe? Many online say it's a reputable safe way to earn an income online. What have been your experiences with that sort of thing? Thanks!

For affiliate marketing, these people will need to be online a lot... they'll need to generate traffic through one means or another.

There shouldn't be an issue of safety, as long as they understand basic security (which most people don't).
- Old Phones: if they're using a very old phone, instead of a newer phone or a pc, they probably won't be able to do security patches on the system. Even if you jailbreak a phone, and install your own OS, you can't install a non-google version of android that will take security updates if the phone is more than a few years old... not unless you're a pretty serious phone guru.
- If they're in a desperate situation, they could always start with an unsecured system... but as soon as they start making money, or connect to any kind of bank, they're really at high risk.
(FYI, the criminals in poor countries get around this issue because they're usually working with stolen credit cards and stolen money... so they can either buy good equipment, or they just don't care about security for a while, since they're working with stolen/scammed money. But honest people, dong actual honest work, need to be more careful.)

So they'll need to learn/implement basic security (easy if they have an updatable phone or pc), and they'll have to be online a lot to generate traffic.

It's not rocket science, but money doesn't grow on trees, not even online.... they'll have to put in some effort.

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I think it's awesome that we live in a time of technological advancement allowing for the ease of gainful employment from the comforts of home. Necessity is not only the mother of invention but also a close relative to ingenuity. I'm amazed at how people are able not only to adapt but prosper with a little creativity in times of diversity.
I'm not familiar with the things you have mentioned so the above cautions seem well warranted. But keep doing your research because there are likely a fair number of options available.
One word of caution for online businesses is a simple one but shouldn't be overlooked. If you do business online, you need to be online. As simple as that may seem, there are still large swathes around the globe where the internet proves very unreliable.
Hope all works out for you.

well no becase they mostly dont have reliable online network in Africa wifi can be very patchy in remote areas and would you expect these poor jobless to all have computers?

I would say dont be crazy. Who would they even market to? Rich people who already have stuff they dont need?

Sounds like another Nigerian online lotto scam to me.

Thanks so much for explaining all of this to me! Do you know many people who do this kind of business online? My Christian friends in Africa are often jobless and so I hope to find a way for them to be an online affiliate marketer without having to have any startup cost. And some of those kind of programs claim that there is no cost to starting. Thanks for explaining how it is important to have a phone that is new enough that it automatically updates itself, so that it is kept as secure as possible. Is it possible for a person to lose even more money than he started with, through having an insecure phone? For example, is it possible for a stranger to take out a loan on someone else's phone - even if he has only the bare minimum required and his account in order to have that account in the bank? If a person starts out with just the bare minimum required to have the account in the bank, can anything worse happen to him other than that he might lose that bare minimum and then have to close the account?

Many affiliate programs recommend having a website. If they need that, maybe I could make it for them.

I noticed that these poor people of Africa can only afford to use so much data on their phone daily. So I can imagine this would limit how much time they can't afford to spend on the internet through their phones. You said it takes time and effort to do well in this kind of business. So I see some difficulties in this. Maybe it would be wiser and better to do the business as a group of people rather than just as individuals alone. That way, it seems they would be able to spend sufficient time required to have any success doing the business. And they could all agree to be paid the same amount by the one who would let them use his bank account for the purpose.
I think that in order for this plan to be safe, they would need to make sure that all who participate have a strong relationship with God. I could help inspect each one to make sure they seem to be trustworthy in that way.

Yes, I see. But I wonder if it's possible to do the business as a group, so that they'll be more likely to be able to spend enough time doing the business in order for it to be profitable. For example - think of the parable of the vineyard, that Jesus told - where the owner of the vineyard was the one who paid each worker individually. The one with the bank, when doing this business of being affiliate marketers - would be like the top boss - that's what i'm picturing. And of course, the best way to find trustworthy people to be workers is to find the best Christians there are.

I know there's lots of scams around - you're right about that. One way to guard against that danger is to do a background checkup on the affiliate marketing programs there are, and to compare opinions others have about them each time. The kind I am looking for - is the kind that can be done anywhere in the world. Since the one's I'm hoping to be of help in helping them to find employment - live mostly in parts of Africa. I myself, live in Michigan, USA. But I am friends with many Christians in Facebook overseas - many in Africa, as I said.

Market online - that's what I mean.



They don't have computers usually - as you say. But they have cellphones and I've read it's possible to do that type of business through a cellphone. I think they need a website - but I thought I might be able to do that part for them on my laptop computer. They don't have sufficient customers in their own areas as you suggest - and I agree. That's why it seems doing it online might be more hopeful for them.

I woûldnt push it.
what do you know about Africas problems anyway you dont live there. You dont market through your OWN phone so why would you expect someone in another continent to be able to do it? It sounds like you are actually using them for your own ends as cheap labour.

They wont have the cellphones that are capable of doing it anyway. They MINE materials for cellphones to be made, they dont use them, just like they grow coffee but never get to drink it themselves.

How about ask the Africans themselves what jobs they want to do and are needed not impose your get rich quick schemes on them.

Im a bit disgusted about this topic.

Plus do you think they know enough americanese or english to be able to market sucessfully to the US. I dont think so. How about teach life skills first, not how to hustle.

Well, they are jobless and that's scary! I'm sure they'd be glad to do whatever type of work as is possible. But the sad reality is that there are extremely few jobs available in parts of Africa. I have heard that there are some trustworthy ways of earning an income through the internet. If they lose some of any money they might through internet methods - it is a small thing, I think - in comparison with the scary predicament of having no money and no way to even try to earn an income locally, in the places I know people there such as Uganda, and Kenya, etc.

PROBLEM AREAS:
It's going to be an uphill climb if the people you're helping do not have:
- adequate hardware
- adequate internet access
- or any particular technical skills

- Facing all of those particular problems, I can't really offer much advice.
- They could simply go online and do their own research and study, but if they have little internet access, then their ability to study is kind of crippled.
- It's possible you can find some kind of online work to help them, but you'll just have to do a lot of research.

OVERALL:
1.) Do more research, talk to more people.
2.) I would specifically research online opportunities for people in their exact situation... maybe some other people have already figured this out... I have no idea.
3.) Don't be afraid to "think outside the box"... but any innovative thinking has to be pragmatic and feasible in the real world, not wishful thinking... or it's useless.
4.) If you find some viable opportunities, present those to your friends in Africa, and see what they think, and see what they're interested in.
5.) In the final analysis, if there is any kind of work to be done, they will have to do the work themselves... so a lot of it comes down to them. (Even if you send a computer, or build a website, they still have to do the actual work... whatever kind of work it is.)
6.) LAST: Don't make any promises you can't keep. If you're looking into things, or gathering ideas, then don't promise them any more than that. When we want to help people, we don't control the universe. We can only do what we can do.

Feasibility:
- If you come across specific opportunities, and need some quick feasibility analysis, there are probably a lot of Christian business people around who can help with that. If you get to this stage, you'll want to ask people to look things over.

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Hi, Maxwell! Thanks for your reply! Yes, I plan to continue to investigate as to what might be the best way to go about this. I don't drive, but can look up a lot on my computer. I'd like to find more Christian business people to discuss this with, but it will take time to find more.

Affiliate marketing is fashionable at the moment. It's been a big deal online for 20 years or more, but thanks to TikTok and other social media platforms, you see a lot of these "influencers" telling you how easy it is.

It's not a scam, or something like that. Lots of people really do make good money from it. But it's nowhere near as easy as they make it seem. it requires a lot of time and patience and often, depending on your niche, significant initial investment.

There is no reason why Africans, or anyone, cannot get involved in affiliate marketing. Dropshipping reduces the need for physical inventory and storage. Smartphone penetration across Africa continues to grow, lots of young people have access to the internet and could easily do this type of thing.

Hi. I am in Africa and from africa and I have mixed feelings about this. I built an affiliate site, signed up for an account with an online American bank and got approved to be an affiliate marketer for Amazon and one other company after they reviewed the affiliate website that I built. I sent out adverts for my products on facebook and earned some money that I withdrew and used. However Facebook has now changed its algorithm so it's not easy for affiliates to make money there. Additionally it's a challenge for affiliates to post adverts on other sites as well. Haven't made an affiliate dollar since facebook changed its algorithm. Additionally only Amazon seemed to genuinely pay you the money you earned. The other affiliate company keeps saying no one is being directed to them from my site even when I go to their site via mine using different computers. It may be a technical glitch but I think some affiliate companies dont tell you when someone purchases from your referral. If you can find a way to advertise for free other than facebook and there are clients willing to buy your products in that market then go for it. If not it may be more worth your while to try find money in the real world. Generally the internet seems to be getting more and more hostile towards affiliate marketers so even if you find a niche that earns you money it may only be a matter of time before you cant market in that niche any more as was the case with me. So I wouldn't look at affiliate marketing as a long term solution but more as a means to an end. A means to support yourself while trying to get a real world qualification for example.

Scam scam scam scam scam scam scam.

And Myrtle, if one person owns the bank account that everyone puts their money into I'm afraid that's a scam. At some point the person with the account may not be faithfull. These days it is not difficult for a person to open an online bank account. There are a number of scam online banks so they would have to be careful. I have found Payoneer bank to be a good option so far. Payoneer needs you to be registered for tax in your own country and they check for this. Then they give you an account if you are clear. So there's no need for individuals to share bank accounts as you are proposing. However as I said more and more websites are rejecting adverts from affiliate marketers so you may find in the end that it's all just been a waste of time.