YouTube announced on Thursday that artists and creators from Nigeria can apply for grants from its Black Voices Fund.
The company said the global $100m fund would, over the next three years, offer support to Black artists and creators so that they could thrive on YouTube.
The Managing Director, Emerging Markets, YouTube EMEA, Alex Okosi, said the fund would invest with the intention to “present fresh narratives that emphasise the intellectual power, authenticity, dignity and joy of Black voices, as well as to educate audiences about racial justice.”
The $100m fund was first announced in June and has since been officially named the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund.
This year, Okosi said, the fund would be focusing its efforts on creators within the United States, Brazil and Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.
“Our goal is to expand funding to more countries over the course of the next three years,” he adds. “Additionally, we hope to provide a consistent drumbeat of educational training, workshops, and community events to Black creators and artists globally,” he added.
According to him, the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund is part of the work currently underway to ensure that YouTube is a place where Black artists, creators and users can share their stories and be protected.
