Visa reportedly disclosed details of its official Visa Creator Program release – a 12-month strategy and mentorship program supporting entrepreneurs leveraging NFTs to help their businesses. 

Specifically, per VISA, the target of the initiative – which caters primarily to entrepreneurs working in art, music, fashion and film – is reportedly to put together an international cohort of digital creators and empower them using the knowledge of blockchain and NFT commerce. 

Initially revealed in October last year, the program’s first Visa Creator is Micah Johnson, creator of the Aku World NFT community.

Johnson previously played baseball professionally, who decided to put away the bat due to numerous injuries, to become a visual artist in 2018.

The NFT character Aku is reportedly a young Black astronaut who has grown to ink his own film and TV deal and is viewed as the first NFT art piece to digitally travel to the International Space Station.

Johnson’s art was reportedly purchased for a total value of 6,178 ETH – equivalent to around $20.9 million – per CryptoArt. 

He became a member of the global payments giant’s inaugural class of content creators and gig economy workers who are already engaging with NFTs. Prospective candidates must apply and be selected to partake. 

“NFTs have the potential to become a powerful accelerator for the creator economy.” Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto, reportedly remarked via a statement. 

Sheffield additionally claimed that the Visa Creator Program is the measure they decide to go with in terms of offering assistance to “this new breed of small and micro businesses tap into new mediums for digital commerce.” 

Apart from mentorship and the community aspect of the program, additional benefits reportedly include the opportunities to engage with Visa’s network of clients and partners, as well as the access to thought leaders in the Web3 space.