YouTube lets Egyptian creators tag products in videos and earn commission

YouTube has opened its Shopping affiliate programme in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, so creators in the region can now sell products straight from their videos, Startup Scene reported on CairoScene on 27 October.

The programme lets a creator tag products inside regular videos, Shorts and live streams. A viewer who taps the tag can buy the item, and the creator earns a commission on each purchase made that way. It is the same model YouTube has used in other markets, and it is the first time Egyptian creators get it.

The bar to join is low. Creators need to be in the YouTube Partner Programme, the scheme that already lets them earn from adverts, and have more than 500 subscribers. That opens it to many small Egyptian channels: cooking, beauty, tech reviews and unboxing videos, where viewers often ask in the comments where to buy what they just saw.

In this first phase the only retail partner is Amazon, which runs amazon.eg in Egypt, so the products creators can tag will come from Amazon's catalogue. YouTube says more local and international retailers will be added as the programme expands across the Middle East and North Africa. Two other features come with it: AI that suggests product tags, and QR codes that let people watching YouTube on a television scan an item with their phone and buy it there.

The launch was presented by Javid Aslanov, YouTube's head for the Middle East and North Africa, together with Sumit Kapoor, Amazon's marketing and Prime director for the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey.

If you make videos, check YouTube Studio for the Shopping section once your channel is in the Partner Programme and over 500 subscribers; commission rates have not been published for Egypt. If you only watch, expect to see product tags appear under videos from Egyptian channels over the coming weeks, with purchases going through Amazon for now.