EarnSmart: The Celebrity Endorsed Pyramid Scheme?

As I was scrolling through Instagram Stories last night, I noticed a rather peculiar ‘topic’ being shared by some of the influencers I follow. ‘How EarnSmart Works’. The screenshots below are from Chebet Ronoh, Kamene Ngoro and Xtian Dela.

So, it got me thinking, what’s this and why are so many people hyped for it. Well, we did our research and here’s what we found out.

What is EarnSmart?

Earnsmart agencies is a networking platform created to help people earn through an affiliate program. Well, that’s what their PR states. However, EarnSmart is really just a pyramid scheme with some added opportunities.

A little background before we go on; A pyramid scheme is a business model which depends on revenue generated through recruiting of new members into a company to sustain the company.

It makes money from its members who recruit new members that are required to pay a fee to join the system. This money is then distributed among the members on the upper part of the pyramid.

How it Works

EarnSmart is no different from other schemes. You join EarnSmart through an affiliate link and are immediately directed to pay for a Gold Package which costs KES 500.
Upon joining, you are given an affiliate link to use when referring new people into the program.
It looks something like this: https://www.earnsmart.co.ke/signup.php?aff=USERNAME; The username represents the name used during registration.

The affiliate program allows anyone to earn up to level 3 of your referrals as demonstrated below:

First Level: For every direct referral you have, you earn Ksh 300. For instance, in the image above, you would earn KES 1,200.
Second Level: For every person that your direct referral recruits into the company, you earn Ksh 100.From the figure above. you make Ksh 1000 from the ten recruits referred by your direct referrals.
Third Level: Every person referred by your level 2 referrals, you earn Ksh 50. This means you’ll make Ksh 850 from 17 referrals recruited by your level 2 referrals.

And that is just about it. The cycle ends there and you keep gaining money from every new referral and the two levels below them. If you have great salesmanship, you could potentially make extra money from this opportunity.

How Much Could You Make?

If you play your cards right, you could be right up there with the big wigs. The likes of Xtian Dela and Wiz Khafifa who are making about KES 21,000 a day. It looks like a pretty good deal right? Unfortunately, there’s a catch… it’s not as easy as it looks.

We have to take into account a few things, is it legit or is it a scam? Does it actually pay and is it worth it?

Is It Legit?

There is a certificate claiming the legitimacy of the company as a registered entity, which is making rounds on the internet. However, compared to another certificate you can spot a difference in the two documents.

When you look at the certificate of registration for EarnSmart Agencies, the Aztec code doesn’t exist. (Aztec Code: if scanned by a code reader will reveal digital information of the specific company’s incorporation).

Image Courtesy Kampusville

It’s easy to generate such a copy on any photoediting software so as of now, we cannot be too sure how legal the company is.

Does It Pay?

Apparently, yes it does. I am yet to see someone who hasn’t received the pay off once their refferals have paid their fee. According to several sources, EarnSmart seems to pay through MPesa services.

A member is allowed to withdraw their earnings when a threshold of Ksh 640 is reached and the money is sent directly to their MPesa number. However, it’s noted that to wihdraw, you’ll need to pay a fee of KES 40 for each transaction.

Lastly, Should You Join EarnSmart?

Looking at it from a sustainability point of view, there’s a possibility that you may loose out on a lot. Hear me out. Multi level marketing schemes are more than likely to collapse.

The number of people joining the company will become so small that it cannot generate enough revenue to sustain the business. This means the company owners will have to start emptying their pockets to pay its members. This is is impossible because it means losses to them.

Therefore, the company will shut down and the latecomers will lose their money .

In terms of whether you should join it, it depends on whether you have the time and the money to risk it all. Here’s the thing, if the KES 500 is the difference between you and sleeping hungry tonight, don’t place that bet.

Take a look at the people promoting this scheme. They have hundreds of thousands of followers and if only one percent of those followers takes the bait, they get back their money and earn more ten fold.

For the regular mwananchi you will have to take down your pride, spend money you don’t have and make a ot of noise in WhatsApp groups trying to get people to join.

Howver, if you have the time and the money to spare, be my guest. As we said earlier, late comers are more likey to loose their money. The earlier you get in, the more likely it is you will make back your money and even a little extra for your time and effort.

Join this program if you are a risk-taker. The program doesn’t guarantee payment and this is listed on their terms and conditions.
If the person you shared the link doesn’t join, you will earn nothing. Nada!