• First launched in 2017, YouTube Batala is an empowerment program that aims to help women on YouTube to thrive and build sustainable careers on the platform.

• For the first time, the revamped program offered mentorship opportunities from top content creators like Rima Alosta, Ayatee & Ahmed Aburob to up & coming female creators on YouTube

• Over 500 women on YouTube participated in this year’s cohort as part YouTube’s pledge to support over 1000 aspiring women from MENA on YouTube

Today, 500 up and coming women on YouTube from across the Middle East & North Africa celebrated their graduation from YouTube’s revamped Batala program. Batala is a YouTube program that aims to help aspiring female content creators to grow their presence, engage with their audience and contribute to the region’s thriving creator economy.

The graduation marks the first cohort of content creators that are part of YouTube’s pledge to support and upskill 1000 aspiring women from MENA on YouTube.

YouTube’s 2024 Batala program launched in June this year and for the first time saw more than 20 top YouTube content creators like, Ayatee, Rima Alpsta, Reem Animations, Noon’s Way Ossy Marwah, Ahmed Aburob & Lamya and offering exclusive mentorship opportunities for aspiring female content creators through personalized masterclasses to help them grow their channels, covering topic such as building an audience, diversifying revenue, increasing engagement and personal branding.

YouTube also offered participants dedicated workshops with YouTube experts on best practices for YouTube’s multiple formats including Shorts, long-form videos, and live streams to reach a wider audience, helping them unlock the full potential of YouTube.

Tarek Amin, Director of YouTube in MENA and Regional Director of EMEA Emerging Markets said “We’re proud of how YouTube’s creator community in MENA has rallied to support a new generation of creative women on the platform. We often hear from aspiring creators of the need for more opportunities to connect and engage with more established talent. This is why Batala and this year’s mentorship program are so important because they help women on YouTube to build these networks, while equipping them with the tools they need to build sustainable careers on YouTube”.

Women on YouTube have long been breaking into male dominated spaces and sharing MENA’s stories with the world. In 2012, Saudi YouTube creator Hatoon Alqadi leveraged YouTube for her breakthrough comedy show “Noon al Niswa”. A few years later in 2019 Iraqi YouTube creator Noor Stars became the first Arabic speaker to reach 10 million subscribers on YouTube. Fast forward to today and content creators like Rima Alosta and Reem Animations continue to break barriers in traditionally male dominated spaces like gaming and graphic design and amassing millions of subscribers and billions of views on YouTube.

Ayatee, a Batala mentor who has over 8 million subscribers also highlighted the importance of strengthening communities for content creators. She said “When I started my YouTube journey, I was an immigrant feeling homesick and disconnected. The support & encouragement from the YouTube community helped me find my voice again… Supporting each other not only enhances our creativity but builds a network of shared knowledge & emotional support which is crucial in the often challenging content creation landscape”

Towards the end of 2019, Egyptian YouTube content creator Nourhan Akram joined the Batala program. This year, Nourhan is one of the mentors passing on her expertise and knowledge to aspiring content creators. “When I first joined Batala, I had around 20,000 subscribers and I’m now approaching 200,000 subscribers which is why I’m excited to be a mentor this year and share all of my learnings with other women…I believe that at the heart of it, Batala is about creating a community of women who support and empower each other to succeed and grow”

The expanded Batala program builds on this foundation by offering additional resources, workshops, and networking opportunities for women to thrive on YouTube.The Batala program is part of YouTube’s wider efforts to support content creators and the creator economy across MENA.

For more information about YouTube Batala, please visit: https://rsvp.withgoogle.com/events/batala/