Supporting aspiring and emerging creators as they navigate their journeys and build their careers through new skills and resources
Last Friday, Meta brought together over 100 creators to mark the launch of its Creator Academy in Malaysia. The Academy is endorsed by The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), and will provide free training and support for aspiring and emerging creators. The program will give creators the opportunity to learn from established peers locally, and learn best practices on how to use Facebook and Instagram creator tools and products to grow an audience, build their personal brand, and turn their passion into professions.
Through this Meta Creator Academy in Malaysia , Meta welcomed Malaysian creators in the early stages of their creator journey. The participating creators represent a diverse set of genres including food, fashion and lifestyle, music, as well as emerging formats such as augmented reality (AR) and digital collectibles.
“Creators come to Facebook and Instagram to tell their stories, connect with communities, and build a career. Whether they are just starting out, or are further along, we want to support them in accomplishing their goals. Through this program, we hope we can support them to upskill, gain access to best practices, expertise and resources, so that they can be at the forefront of tomorrow's opportunities and innovation as a creator,” said Philip Chua, Director of Instagram Public Policy, APAC at Meta.
Meta will also take additional steps beyond the launch to scale local educational resources, best practices, and latest happenings to both online and offline channels to reach and nurture more emerging Malaysian creators.
The Meta Creator Academy builds upon Meta’s recent initiatives in Malaysia. Last year, Meta launched the Creators of Tomorrow campaign that celebrated emerging talents from around the world who are inspiring a new movement of creative content online. Five incredibly talented Malaysian creators were part of the program, sharing how they build engaged audiences, turning their passions into professions, setting trends and pushing culture forward through innovative new formats. Meta also hosted more than 120 creators from around the region in the first APAC Creator Week in Bali, Indonesia last year which included participation from Malaysian creators.
Also present at the launch were Jenn Chia (@soimjenn), social media influencer and content creator well-known for her quirky and relatable video contents, Rabbit Mac (@rabbit.mac), a Hip Hop based singer, Fiqrie Dahari (@fiqrieisme), an up and coming host and actor, Geoffrey Sinn, an augmented reality (AR) creator who is also the founder of Studio AceProductions and Nicole Yap (@8sianmom / @8siannft) who is the founder of 8sian which brings global communities together with one of the leading NFT brands in Malaysia. They shared their experience and learnings that they have gathered over the years to help the budding creators.
The Creator Economy offers huge potential for the Malaysian digital and creative industries, and the Malaysian economy more broadly. According to The Rise of the Creator Economy a report commissioned by Meta in 2022 the creator economy is forecasted by some exploratory studies to reach more than $100 billion. A 2022 survey carried out by Edelman Data & Intelligence for Adobe found that around the world, there are more than 300 million Creators[1].
“In Malaysia, the creator economy has been growing rapidly and evolving, with a diverse range of creators, platforms, and support systems emerging to meet the needs of this industry. MDEC continues to rally and support initiatives that nurture digital opportunities for the gig economy to thrive,” said Raymond Siva, Chief Digital Investment Officer, MDEC.
“The government has recognized the importance of the creator economy and has implemented initiatives to support the growth of the industry as aligned to the national strategic initiative Malaysia Digital (MD). This is in line with the Global Online Workforce (GLOW) programme which introduces the gig or freelance economy and its opportunities as an alternative form of employment,” he said.
“We have been listening to what our creator community wants and that is why we’ve invested in creators in ways no other platform has, giving creators a home base to build community, and create engaging content through a myriad of content formats and creative tools. This includes a variety of formats including Reels, which is our fastest growing format by far. The Meta Creator Academy is just the start and we look forward to working with partners like MDEC, to drive the Malaysian creator economy forward, contributing to the country’s digital economy agenda, and supporting aspiring and emerging creators to be successful,” said Nicole Tan, Country Director, Meta in Malaysia.
[1] Adobe, “Creators in the Creator Economy: A Global Study”, August 25, 2022. The survey was conducted by Edelman Data & Intelligence.
