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AkooBooks Audio

Giving Voice to African Authors Globally

AkooBooks Audio is a publisher and a digital streaming platform for African spoken word, available in English, French and multiple African languages.

Shortlisted
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Overview

HundrED shortlisted this innovation

HundrED has shortlisted this innovation to one of its innovation collections. The information on this page has been checked by HundrED.

Web presence

2018

Established

1M

Children

8

Countries
Target group
Students
Updated
April 2022
"There's power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice. And there's grace in being willing to know and hear others.”

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

Learning to read without a book is a sad reality for many people in Sub-Saharan Africa. Books are essential to opening opportunities in a person’s life, including education, employment, health and participation in society. There are over 250 African million children with no access to books. Inspired to helping my mother, a children’s book writer, cope with blindness.

What does your innovation look like in practice?

Books are essential to opening other opportunities in a person’s life, including education, employment, health and participation in society.

AkooBooks Audio is a digital streaming audio platform for African audiobooks and spoken word, providing engaging Black/African books that reach new audiences on mobile devices.

Our service will lead to
1) Improved reading and learning outcomes for all learners through mobile devices
2) More visibility and revenue for African Authors and Publishers through digital distribution.
3) Job Creation. Within five years, we aim to be the largest single employer of African voice talent in West Africa outside the theatre and film industry.

How has it been spreading?

The AkooBooks Platform was launched in Nov 2019 and is hosted on AWS. (internet & mobile apps)
● Over 50 new licenses with African Content Partners incl. African Publishers on the continent, BBC Radio, Ghana Library Authorities.
● Catalogue size over 250+ quality African audiobooks/programnes
● AkooBooks Audio launched a partnership with the MTN /Ayoba super app March 28 2022 to grow awareness of audiobooks and build a community and have 4,500 subscribers already.
● AkooBooks Audio launched a partnership with CENDLOS (The Centre for National Distance Learning and Open Schooling) to bring African audiobooks to Ghanaian classrooms.

If I want to try it, what should I do?

AkooBooks are available on the internet at https://app.akoobooks.net via our internet app.

Akooboks app for mobile phones are also
available at http://bit.ly/akoobooks (Apple) and
http://bit.ly/akoobooksG (Google)

Readers can sample audiobooks and listen before purchasing and downloading.

Spread of the innovation

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