Spotify Announces Its New Africa Podcast Fund
Spotify Announces Its New Africa Podcast Fund. In the year and a half since Spotify launched in more than 80 new markets around the world, the company has been paying close attention to the many storytellers and entertainers across the African continent and using its platform to amplify and empower creators through activations on Fela Kuti’s birthday and Africa Day, spotlights on RADAR artists, and more.
Now, it is turning up the volume on even more up-and-comers with a first-of-its-kind podcast initiative called the Africa Podcast Fund. Through this initiative, the company seeks to support burgeoning podcasters and further amplify their stories, bolstering their careers through financial grants, workshops, and networking opportunities.
Spotify offered the $100,000 fund to 13 creators from South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana—the four African countries with the biggest podcast listenership. The fund also includes a Cameroonian podcast with a large listenership both in France and in Francophone African countries, such as Cote d’Ivoire. Given the wide range of selected countries, the winning podcasts are recorded in a range of languages including Pidgin, English, French, Sheng, Ga, and Twi.
The recipients of the fund are independent emerging podcasters with growing audiences. Spotify focused on supporting podcasts that showcase a range of voices, formats, languages, and content from hosts of all genders. Its goal is to help platform African creators on a global scale and shift the historically restrictive view of stories about the continent.
“We’re excited about the development of podcasting in Africa, particularly because the medium allows underrepresented African voices to tell the story of Africa,” says Melissa Mbugua, Co-Director of Africa Podfest, the organization that will administer the fund.
