It was Edward De Bono who once said, "Without creativity, there would be no progress", and there is no doubt of the effect that online media platforms have had on both creativity and progress. Digital empowerment can bring both economic and creative benefits to an emerging economy, and Bangladesh’s video streaming app, Toffee, has become a prime example of how telecom companies can help their users in developing nations become more connected, share their ideas, and grow their creative skills.
There is an undeniable benefit to a country embracing its creative industry, however creatives in emerging economies have not been given the same opportunities as those from established economies, putting them at a huge disadvantage. A lack of connectivity leaves hundreds of thousands of creatives with limited ways of sharing their talents with a wider audience. The uses of these platforms have developed far beyond recreational purposes and have begun to prove themselves useful in the wider creative industries. They provide not only entertainment, but opportunity.
User-made content platforms have become hotbeds for creatives to show off their talents and share their creations on a larger platform. Naturally, traditional media producers have caught wind and now actively keep tabs on creative platforms to help them find fresh talent and help them to cultivate their skills in the creative industries.
Telecom companies are uniquely positioned in being able to provide their users with access to a whole world of connectivity. This year Banglalink, one of the leading telecom companies in Bangladesh, has seen its yearly revenue increase by 7.2% which was mainly driven by its focus on providing digital services to its customers through its in-house apps. Paired with its personalized data offers, Banglalink has become a prime example of how telecom companies can help their users in emerging economies become more connected.
Toffee is a video streaming app which previously could have been likened to a localised version of Netflix, however, it is also the first-ever User Generated Content platform introduced by a homegrown app in the country.Toffee encourages user-created content to be uploaded onto the platform: content which is aimed at upholding Bangladeshi culture and tradition in the digital space. In doing so Toffee is empowering Bangladeshi content creators to upload their content and allowing them to reach out to a wide local user-base instantly.
Not only does this help to advance the country’s creative industry, but it offers creatives a newfound freedom that would have previously been inaccessible to them. By providing them with the means to create digital content, Toffee’s users are being given the chance to further their media production skills, opening doors to careers in more creative fields.
Digital empowerment brings countless benefits to an emerging economy, and it is vital that these communities are supported and given equal access to digital services such as these. There will always be those that brush off creative platforms as mere forms of entertainment, however, it’s becoming increasingly clear that these platforms have outgrown that particular label and developed into something far more significant. They have become a means through which creatives can simultaneously find new inspirations, channel their creativity, and share their creations with an audience in an instant.
