The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

LOCAL financial and regulatory systems are the main barrier preventing Bahamian content creators from earning money online, not platforms like YouTube or TikTok, according to a new research paper.

The paper by Marie A Reid, Monetization as a Development Right: How Knowledge Fragmentation Constrains Digitally Mediated Earning for Silver Economy Development in The Bahamas, comes weeks after the Davis administration held a conference with content creators to address their lack of earnings. Some attendees left the event unconvinced that policymakers had provided real solutions.

The study challenges the widely held belief that Caribbean creators are excluded by platform policies or are required to open foreign bank accounts to participate. According to the research, that narrative misidentifies the problem and discourages creators from attempting to earn in the first place. It argues that Bahamian creators are generally eligible to monetise content on global platforms but face difficulties once that income enters the local system.

The paper highlights how platform income is handled. Earnings typically arrive as small, frequent payments from advertising, subscriptions, gifts and brand deals, which do not fit neatly into local banking and compliance systems designed for larger, traditional transactions such as wire transfers, tourism payments and remittances.

But the study argues that banking friction is only one part of a wider issue. It says the real constraint is institutional fragmentation, with responsibility for digital payments, financial inclusion, youth employment and the creative sector spread across separate policy areas.

As a result, no single system addresses how digital earning should function in practice. The paper describes this as a gap between what institutions already know and what they have implemented, with relevant research and policy tools failing to translate into coordinated action.

It places particular focus on the Inter-American Development Bank, arguing that the institution already works across all the relevant areas — including digital payments, financial inclusion and the creative economy — but does so in silos. Digital earnings, which sit at the intersection of those priorities, remain unaddressed at an operational level despite the bank having the capacity to act.

The study points to Jamaica as evidence that creator monetisation can function within the Caribbean. Available information shows creators there earning through platform payouts, paid content and brand partnerships, suggesting the issue is not regional exclusion but how local systems respond to digital income.

Beyond influencers, the paper frames digital monetisation as a potential supplementary income pathway, particularly for Family Islands communities. It argues that older adults hold cultural knowledge that can carry value online, while younger people often have the technical skills to produce and manage digital content, creating opportunities for small, intergenerational enterprises.

The study does not present this as a solution to broader economic challenges, but says it could provide a practical additional income stream if institutional barriers are addressed.