LinkedIn brings its Creator Accelerator programme to India

Reuters

Professional networking site LinkedIn said on February 23 that it is bringing its Creator Accelerator programme to India, as the race to woo creators hots up among tech giants.

India is the second market where LinkedIn is rolling out this programme after the launch in the United States, as part of the company's $25-million investment in creators announced in September 2021.

"By equipping a diverse range of voices with the right resources, the Creator Accelerator Program aims to help members unlock greater business opportunities with the content they're making and the conversations they're sparking,” said Ashutosh Gupta, India Country Manager at LinkedIn.

It would aim to support up to 200 creators in growing their communities on the platform through this 10-week incubator-style initiative, LinkedIn said.

Selected creators will get access to LinkedIn's Community Management team, educational workshops, creator-to-creator networking opportunities, and tools and resources, apart from a financial grant.

While the Microsoft-owned company was yet to respond to Moneycontrol's query on the grant size in India, it provided $15,000 each to creators in the US.

The firm has also roped in Nearbuy founder Ankur Warikoo, Edelweiss AMC MD and CEO Radhika Gupta, Nas Academy CEO Nuseir Yassin and Le 15 Patisserie founder Pooja Dhingra as mentors.

“Creators are at the heart of the Linkedin community and this program is the first of many steps in our increased commitment to support this community. We have seen that the more conversations that happen on LinkedIn, the more opportunities become available to members everywhere," Gupta said.

Creators will would shortlisted based on their ability to "build passionate communities, unique content, and spark discussions" around a range of professional topics such as skills, future of work and mental health, the company said in a statement. The programme will also be open to Hindi language creators.

In December, LinkedIn added support for Hindi, marking its first Indian language rollout in the country. Following this, members were able to access their feed, profile, jobs, messaging, and create content in Hindi on desktop, and on their Android and iOS smartphones.

India is the second-largest market for LinkedIn after the United States, with more than 85 million members in the country. Overall, LinkedIn has more than 800 million members.