KUALA LUMPUR: Meta, formerly known as Facebook Inc, has launched The Meta Creator Academy in Malaysia, which is endorsed by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to provide free training and support for aspiring and emerging content creators.

Country director Nicole Tan said the academy would give creators of the early stages of their creator journey the opportunity to learn from established peers locally.

"We have listened and heard from a lot of creators around that they want to be connected with more tools and skills.

"With this academy, creators can network and learn best practices on how to use Facebook and Instagram creator tools and products to grow an audience, tell their stories better, build their personal brand and be part of the burgeoning greater economy," she said at the academy's launching here today.

The event gathered 120 experienced creators who represented a diverse set of genres including food, fashion and lifestyle, music, as well as emerging formats such as augmented reality (AR) and digital collectible to kick-start the academy.

Tan said according to Meta's study Malaysia is one of the highest digital consumers in South East Asia at 99 per cent and has the largest number of creators in the region with 17 per cent.

Meanwhile, Philip Chua, the director of Instagram Public Policy, Asia Pacific (APAC) at Meta, said the academy would not only provide various opportunities for creators to work with established brands in Malaysia but also enabled fans to purchase services or items, subscribe or reward creators that they love from around the world.

"If you go to our ad creators account on Instagram or creators.instagram.com, you'll find best practices and tips that are coming through not just from our point of view but also people who are working on Instagram and Facebook.

"We are looking forward to gather more Malaysian stories and are also excited to showcase the Malaysian culture with the rest of the world and vice versa," said Chua.

MDEC chief digital investment officer Raymond Siva said the academy would support Malaysian creators, especially the Gen-Z, to a formalised or structured manner on how they could present their contents on social media.

He said as of last year, the digital economy is contributing 23.2 per cent to the national gross domestic product (GDP) and is 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 and 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 Movement Control Orders (MCOs).

-- BERNAMA