YouTube launches Batala, a hub for Arab female creators

YouTube launched on Monday a new hub called Batala (youtube.com/batala) just for female creators from the Middle East and North Africa which features more than 100 female creators from the region.

Announced during an event in Riyadh, the channel has more than 1,000 videos and is categorized by genres such as comedy, education, fitness, and many more. The hub will also highlight a new list of creators every month at the top of the channel.

“With the continuing growth of female content creators in MENA, we want to keep the momentum going. With YouTube Batala, discovering new creators and their work is now easier than ever. The hub highlights the work of some of our best creators in the region, and showcases high-quality Arabic content to YouTube’s one billion users,” head of YouTube Partnerships in the Middle East of North Africa Diana Baddar said.

YouTube Batala highlights creators like Njoud Al Shammari, a lifestyle YouTuber from Saudi Arabia, Enji Aboul Seoud, an amateur film critic from Egypt, and Haifa Bseiso, a travel vlogger from Palestine. It also features our top creators such as Noor Stars and Hayla Ghazal, who each have more than 2 million subscribers.

The announcement comes as the supply and demand of female-related content continues to grow on the platform. In the Middle East and North Africa alone, the total number of hours spent watching female-related videos has grown by 50 percent in 2015. While in Saudi Arabia, the Consumer Connected Survey found that 63% of Saudi Females are motivated to watch their most recent online video sensation to be entertained or inspired.

Here are some the Saudi creators featured on the platform:

• Noon Al Niswa
• Drama Queen 7373
• Al Khattaf Sisters
• Njoud Al Shammari