Richa Chordia

The creator economy sprung to life in the US, but it’s now indisputably global. The rate of new creators coming online is slowing in the US (now 25% slower year-over-year) but accelerating everywhere else. The fastest-growing creator countries on Stripe are Thailand (where Stripe launched last year), Brazil, and Romania. And Europe and the Middle East have doubled their share of creators—from 11% when we last looked to 22% today.

“In 2012, Ko-fi started as a weekend project to let developers accept contributions of coffee,” said Simon Ellington, cofounder of Ko-fi, a UK-based Connect platform. “Since then, creators have signed up from six continents. They’re accepting tips for PlayStation streams and selling online jazz club memberships. Creators are now earning $100 million a year on Ko-fi. Last year, that number was less than half.”