KUALA LUMPUR: Meta Platforms Inc, formerly Facebook Inc, has launched The Meta Creator Academy in Malaysia to provide free training and support for aspiring and emerging content creators.
Country director Nicole Tan said the academy, endorsed by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corp (MDEC), would give aspiring content creators the opportunity to learn from established peers locally.
"We have listened from content creators that they want to be connected with more tools and skills.
"With this academy, creators can network and learn the best practices as to how to use Facebook and Instagram creator tools and products to build an audience, tell their stories better, cultivate their personal brand and be part of the burgeoning greater economy," she said at the academy's launching here today (Mar 10).
The event gathered 120 experienced creators, representing diverse genres, including food, fashion and lifestyle, music, as well as emerging formats, such as Augmented Reality (AR) and digital collectables, to kick-start the academy.
Tan said that according to Meta's study, Malaysia was one of the highest digital consumers in Southeast Asia at 99 per cent and had the highest number of creators in the region at 17 per cent.
Philip Chua, the director of Instagram Public Policy, Asia Pacific (APAC), said the academy would provide opportunities for content creators to work with established local brands and enable fans to buy services or items, subscribe to or reward creators they love.
"If you go to our ad creators account on Instagram or creators.instagram.com, you'll find best practices and tips coming through not just from our point of view but also from people working at Instagram and Facebook.
"We look forward to gathering more Malaysian stories and are excited to showcase the Malaysian culture to the world and vice versa," Chua said.
MDEC chief digital investment officer Raymond Siva said the academy would support local creators, especially Gen-Zs, in a formalised or structured manner on how they could present their content on social media.
He said last year, the digital economy contributed 23.2 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP) and was expected to contribute 25.5 per cent of GDP by 2025 under the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint.
"This was driven by the e-commerce that did 'live' selling rapidly over the last two years. We now see that creator economy is catching up and is influenced by it, by doing commerce and trading," he said.
He added that in 2021, the digital economy contributed RM2 billion to GDP, accelerated by the rapid online content sharing and consumption during the various Movement Control Orders. --Bernama