Yaneek Page | How much do you know about the hidden economy that is quietly generating billions of US dollars in digital commerce?

What I am about to share may be one of the most important economic conversations Jamaica should be having, and the start of the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season is a momentous occasion to kick off the discussion.

While reviewing data on the rapidly expanding creator economy, I noticed something astonishing. According to Goldman Sachs, the global creator economy is already worth more than US$250 billion and could approach US$480 billion by 2027. Now, let's put those mind-boggling numbers into perspective. This means the creator economy is already approaching 70 per cent of the size of the global business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, a sector that many developing countries, including Jamaica, have aggressively pursued as a major source of jobs and foreign exchange earnings. More importantly, the creator economy is growing significantly faster and is on track to match, or potentially surpass, the size of the BPO industry within the next few years.

Now compare it to travel and tourism, an industry that still dwarfs the creator economy and generates trillions of dollars annually. This may seem an unfair comparison, but for us, it's precisely what should be placed under a microscope. Tourism has been one of Jamaica's most important economic pillars for decades. Yet the COVID-19 pandemic, Hurricane Beryl and the monster storm that was Melissa provided painful reminders of our vulnerability. Preliminary data from the Planning Institute of Jamaica shows a nearly 6 per cent GDP decline in the first quarter of 2026. Tourism, agriculture, mining, and other sectors all still reeling. For the next six months we'll hold our collective breaths, well aware that most industries are exposed to extreme weather events.

The creator economy operates differently. Whereas a hurricane can damage hotel rooms and infrastructure, it can't damage user-generated content, or digital courses. Storms or drought can wipe out an entire harvest, but not a subscription community, or educational platform, or online audiences built across multiple countries. Intellectual property remains one of the few export assets that can continue generating income regardless of whether planes land, ships dock, or tourists arrive.

Also, the growth trajectory is impressive. The creator economy is projected to expand at double-digit outpacing growth rates in other sectors in the coming years. But that's not the most fascinating strategic bite. It is how value is created and retained. Let's take traditional tourism models: much of the spending is distributed across airlines, booking platforms, cruise operators, imported food and beverages, and goods, utilities, physical infrastructure, maintenance and debt servicing. Agriculture faces praedial larceny, rising input costs, weather risks, transportation expenses, spoilage, and supply-chain disruptions. BPO is still labour-intensive, requiring large facilities, technology infrastructure, management oversight, plus a continuous supply of trained workers. While creators do incur costs such as equipment, software subscriptions, training, advertising, and platform fees, the economics are far more scalable and personally profitable. A digital product can be created once and sold repeatedly. A membership community can serve thousands of customers without hundreds of employees. A course, toolkit, newsletter, or digital asset can continue generating revenue long after the initial work has been completed.

Now, let me state clearly — this doesn't mean every creator becomes wealthy. Right now, most do not. Many earn just a few hundred US dollars annually. Others never successfully monetise their audiences. However, the same could be said of many traditional small businesses, which operate for years without profit, on meagre cashflows. What makes the sector compelling is its upside potential relative to its startup costs and barriers to entry.

A Jamaican creator who successfully generates even US$1,500 monthly from a global audience earns nearly J$3 million annually, in foreign exchange. At US$3,000 per month, that figure approaches J$6 million annually. Though these amounts may not sound extraordinary in developed countries, that's a meaningful supplement to household incomes and, in some cases, rival or exceed earnings in many entry-level jobs in tourism, transportation/logistics, retail, or business process outsourcing.

The best part, however, is those earnings are not tied to a specific geographic market. The local creator could serve customers in New York, Toronto, London, Lagos, or even Sydney, exporting value to the world.

But there's a looming question: "Isn't this contrary to growing arguments in North America and Europe to stop encouraging youths to become creators and instead steer them toward traditional careers and skilled trades?" In many countries, the biggest challenges are labour shortages in healthcare, construction, transportation, manufacturing, plumbing, electrical work, and other essential trades, but Jamaica has even bigger fish to fry. Our challenge is beyond simply filling labour shortages. We need industries capable of generating foreign exchange, exporting value beyond our shores, and capitalising on genuine competitive advantages, while mitigating climate change vulnerabilities. It begs a different question: what are we uniquely positioned to sell to the world? For decades we successfully exported culture, music, food, dance, fashion, personality and language, long before social media existed. The creator economy may simply be the latest evolution of that advantage.

Let me reiterate: This is not an argument against vocational training, the STEM fields, BPO and food security, etc. We need more engineers, scientists, technicians, healthcare workers, electricians, and skilled tradespeople. We also need to grow more of what we consume. But workforce solutions must be grounded in our complex economic reality.

Young people naturally gravitate toward opportunity. Social media now sees them locked into sectors where they see income potential, flexibility, visibility, and upward mobility. Thousands are already creating content, building audiences, promoting businesses, showcasing talent, and participating in digital communities every day. Perhaps we should really be asking how we help them grow commercially. Remember, the creator economy is no longer limited to influencers chasing vanity metrics. It now includes educators selling knowledge, chefs teaching recipes, musicians building communities, consultants packaging expertise, trainers delivering digital programmes, artists licensing creative assets, and entrepreneurs creating intangibles that can be sold globally.

One love,

Yaneek Page is the programme lead for Market Entry USA and a certified trainer in Entrepreneurship.