YouTube has launched a YouTube Shorts Fund in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon and Morocco. The Shorts Creator Fund is one additional way through which creators and artists can monetise their content on YouTube from advertising to Paid Digital Goods, merchandise branded content and more.

This shorts feature is already available and YouTube will reward creators and artists who make creative and unique “Shorts” for their contributions. The global US $100m fund was initially announced back in May and is already available in a number of markets around the world. 

Tarek Amin, Director of YouTube in the Middle East and North Africa, commented on the new launch saying: “Since rolling out Shorts in the Middle East and North Africa earlier this year, we’ve seen great growth in viewership and creation. The Shorts Fund was the logical next step as we build our long-term monetization plan for Shorts. YouTube has helped an entire generation of creators and artists turn their creativity into businesses, and in MENA the number of creators earning five and six figures from YouTube continues to grow year on year. The fund is yet another tool in YouTube’s storytelling toolbox”.

To be eligible for the fund, creators and must meet the following criteria: Channels need to have uploaded at least one eligible Short in the last 180 days; Channels need to abide by YouTube’s Community Guidelines, copyright rules, and monetisation policies; Channels uploading videos with watermarks or logos from third-party social media platforms, non-original videos, or videos re-uploaded from other creator’s channels will not be eligible; Channels do not need to be currently monetising on YouTube to be eligible; Creators must be above the age of majority in their country/region.

Qualifying channels may earn anywhere between $100–$10,000 each month to start, with bonus payment amounts adjusted based on the channel’s total Shorts performance and their audience’s location. YouTube plans to expand the fund to even more countries in the coming months. It has to be noted that over the past three years, YouTube has paid more than $30bn to creators, artists, and media companies. In the United Arab Emirates, the percentage of YouTube channels making six figures or more in revenue (AED) is up over 40%, year over year, in Saudi Arabia, it is making six figures or more in revenue (SAR) is up over 20%, year over year, and in Egypt, it is making five figures or more in revenue (EGP) is up over 50%, year over year. In Egypt over 4k channels have over 100K subscribers, an increase of over 40%, year over year whereas in Saudi Arabia, over 2.5k channels have over 100K subscribers, an increase of over 25%, year over year.