- Botswana video has surpassed 350K views a week over the last six months to become his fastest growing
- Has gained more viewership than his New York travel feature and his chance meeting with DJ Khaled this year
BONGANI MALUNGA
Popular African YouTube personality Wode Maya’s travel focus on Botswana has garnered more first week views than any of his videos over the last six months.
His Botswana travel feature yielded 356 621 in the first week it was uploaded.
The long-awaited video is the culmination of Wode Maya’s travel experiences in the country where his social media posts went viral for his infatuation with all of Botswana’s offerings.
Changing narratives
Dubbed “The Africa You Don’t See On TV (Botswana),” the video was uploaded on 5 October by the content creator whose idea is to change the perception of Africa and the narrative of the continent among his 1.6 million subscribers.
The 36-minute video features the best of Botswana as narrated by Wode Maya with added insights from locals about everyday life and history of the country. The content creator traversed through Gaborone, Francistown and the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans to provide detailed descriptions of the places.
Human element
While Botswana is well known for diamonds, wildlife and democracy, Wode Maya prioritised the human element in his video, touching on topics such as education, job creation and local cuisine to showcase what locals can offer. He also had conversations with historian Tiro Kganela about Gaborone and Botswana as a whole.
At the time of going to press, the video had gained 356 621 views on YouTube with 15 000 likes. The Botswana feature has gained more viewership than Wode Maya’s visit to New York City, which has gained 115 000 views in five months.
Trinidad and Tobago
His chance meeting with popular American musician DJ Khaled in Barbados gained 287 000 views in nine months. Trips to Trinidad and Tobago and Burundi in the last three months have gained a viewership peak of 217 000 per video.
Only four of his videos have surpassed the 400 000 viewership mark this year but that was after more than three months. Wode Maya has announced that Algeria will follow Botswana in his Africa series.