Dubai:Creators HQ has announced a strategic partnership with YouTube to launch the first regional incubator aimed at empowering content creators in the Middle East and North Africa to maximize their revenue through YouTube Shopping.
According to Wam, over the next two years, YouTube will conduct a series of masterclasses via YouTube Academy, training over 1,000 creators on best practices and tools to leverage YouTube Shopping as a primary monetization tool.
The initiative will be showcased at the upcoming fifth edition of the 1 Billion Followers Summit, organized by the UAE Government Media Office from January 8 to 10, 2027, in Dubai. This collaboration follows the launch of the YouTube Affiliate Shopping program in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, allowing creators to tag products in their content to earn commissions.
Alia Al Hammadi of the UAE Government Media Office emphasized the importance of this collaboration in enabling creators to tap into e-commerce advancements. Javid Aslanov, Head of YouTube in the Middle East and North Africa, expressed excitement about expanding collaboration to offer creators practical ways to build their businesses through the YouTube Shopping Affiliate Program.
Eligible creators can now tag products in various content formats to earn commissions, with Google AI assisting in product identification and tagging. Additionally, YouTube has introduced features to enhance the shopping experience, such as QR code scanning for television viewers.
The launch of YouTube Shopping in the region underlines the impact of digital content on shopping decisions, with global viewers watching over 40 billion hours of shopping-related content annually. A survey by Kantar highlighted that a majority of viewers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia regard YouTube as a leader in shopping-related content and trust its creators for product recommendations.