YouTube and Creators HQ Launch the Region’s First Shopping Incubator for MENA Creators

YouTube and Creators HQ have launched the region’s first YouTube Shopping incubator, a two-year programme that will train more than 1,000 creators across the Middle East and North Africa to earn through shopping. The collaboration was announced in Dubai on 10 November, and it puts the creator economy at the centre of the UAE’s content strategy.

Creators HQ is the UAE and the Middle East’s first dedicated creators’ hub, and it sits within Visioneers, the country’s largest content management and development platform. YouTube is the world’s largest video platform, and the two have worked together before through YouTube Academy.

What the incubator teaches

The programme runs through YouTube Academy, with a series of dedicated masterclasses over the next two years. The sessions teach creators the best practices and tools for using YouTube Shopping as a primary way to earn.

YouTube Academy has trained more than 5,000 creators since it launched last year. The new incubator builds on that base, with a target of more than 1,000 creators trained in shopping monetisation.

How creators earn

YouTube Shopping lets eligible creators tag products directly in their videos, Shorts and live streams, and earn a commission when viewers buy. Amazon is the first affiliate partner, with more merchants joining soon.

Google AI identifies products in a video automatically and suggests tags, which saves creators hours of manual work. Viewers watching on television can scan an on-screen QR code with their phone and complete a purchase instantly.

Creators with as few as 500 subscribers can earn commission from product recommendations, Javid Aslanov said in an interview at the launch. The low bar matters, because it opens shopping income to small and new creators, not only to the region’s biggest names.

“This collaboration reflects Creators HQ’s commitment to building strategic relations with leading global platforms, providing regional creators with new tools and solutions to scale their business, leverage the rapid shifts in the digital economy and unlock broader avenues for sustainable growth and monetisation.”

Alia Al Hammadi, Vice Chairperson of the UAE Government Media Office and Deputy CEO of the 1 Billion Followers Summit

“We are excited to expand our ongoing collaboration with Creators HQ, as part of YouTube Academy, to bring the first-of-its-kind masterclass for regional creators to learn and make the most of the YouTube Shopping Affiliate Program. This programme gives creators another, practical way to build their businesses, while offering brands a way to connect with highly engaged audiences.”

Javid Aslanov, Head of YouTube in the Middle East and North Africa

“Today’s masterclass is an extension of our joint efforts with Creators HQ to empower the next generation of storytellers from across the region, ensuring more creators have the tools and capabilities to turn their passion into a thriving, long-term career on YouTube.”

Javid Aslanov, Head of YouTube in the Middle East and North Africa

The summit stage

The initiative also features a YouTube Shopping experience at the fifth edition of the 1 Billion Followers Summit, from 8 to 10 January 2027. The summit runs across Jumeirah Emirates Towers, DIFC and the Museum of the Future in Dubai, under the theme ‘Content for Good.’

The summit is organised by the UAE Government Media Office, and it is Creators HQ’s flagship global event. It brings together the region’s most influential creators and the industry experts who work with them.

A creator economy with a business model

This is the third monetisation move from Creators HQ in under a year. In October it named the first cohort of its Amazon Creators Foundry, a six-month programme that helps UAE creators launch products on Amazon.ae and expand into more than 20 international markets.

The 1 Billion Followers Summit and the National Media Authority have also launched a $1 million creator fund, with $10,000 each for 100 selected creators and applications opening on 20 November. Creators HQ now counts 3,631 members from 111 nationalities, and its hub sits at Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai.

The demand is there. Viewers watch more than 40 billion hours of shopping-related content on YouTube every year, and a Kantar survey found 94 percent of viewers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia agree YouTube has the best shopping-related content, while 86 percent say it has the most trusted creators for product recommendations.

The first masterclass ran at Creators HQ in Dubai on 10 November, the day of the announcement. The next sessions will run through YouTube Academy over the coming two years.