Influencer marketing means paying or partnering with someone who has an engaged audience to promote a product; micro-influencers (roughly 1,000 to 100,000 followers) often deliver higher engagement rates and lower cost per post than macro-influencers or celebrities, making them attractive for brands with limited budgets, including many African SMEs and startups. Affiliate marketing is performance-based: an affiliate earns a commission only when their unique link or code leads to a sale, which makes it lower-risk than paying a flat fee upfront. When evaluating a partner, look beyond follower count to engagement rate, audience authenticity, and whether their existing audience actually matches your target customer -- a mismatch wastes budget even if the influencer's numbers look impressive.