Podcast Opportunities in Africa

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Podcast Opportunities in Africa

Podcasting has been described as the “next big medium” in Africa due to the sheer size of the youth demographic. However, there are limited monetization opportunities in Africa. Some of the top podcasts include Legally Clueless (Kenya), Alibi (South Africa), and Loose Talk Podcast (Nigeria).

General Landscape

  • Africans have been creating and listening to podcasts for the “best part of a decade.”
  • Podcasting is seen as the “next big medium” due to the sheer size of Africa's youth demographic.
  • The African podcast landscape includes “active pockets of makers and users” in Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria.
  • Over 250 people signed up for the Africa Podfest event in Kenya before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • South Africa has been described as “one of the most developed podcast communities” in Africa.
  • In Nigeria, the podcast charts are often topped by shows that featured friends talking about politics and pop culture or hosted by big-name pastors.

Obstacles

  • Several obstacles contributed to the slow growth in podcast consumption in Africa.
  • There is a lack of awareness on this medium as many Africans “still don’t know what a podcast is and where to find it.”
  • Unlike Apple devices, there is a “lack of a single podcast gatekeeper on Android phones.” As Android devices are more popular than Apple devices in Africa, the discovery of podcasts is “often fractured with people finding and listening to podcasts on different platforms.”
  • Data in Africa is “costly and precious.” Listeners can only overcome this obstacle by downloading the podcast episodes at places with free WiFi and listening later.

Partnering/Challenging Radio Stations

  • Podcasters viewed radio stations as both partners and competitors in Africa.
  • In 2019, Adelle Onyango, the creator of the Legally Clueless podcast, became a syndicate partner of Kenya-based radio station Trace FM.
  • The podcast division of South Africa-based Children’s Radio Foundation has partnered with 70 radio stations across South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Congo, and Sierra Leone to train children to become reporters.
  • Podcasters in Nigeria have noted that the “only way podcasting grows to a level big enough to challenge radio is by producing sufficient enough derivatives to build that niche.”

Monetization

Most Popular Themes

  • The most popular podcast themes in Africa include career, news/politics, and pop culture/entertainment.
  • According to The State of Podcasting in Kenya 2019, 40% of the respondents selected career as their favorite theme.
  • According to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2019 - South Africa Supplementary Report, 25% of the respondents have listened to news/politics podcasts.
  • According to the 2019 Podcast Listening Habits in Nigeria, 75.7% of the respondents have listened to pop culture/entertainment podcasts.

LGBTQ

Top Podcast in Kenya

Top Podcast in South Africa

Top Podcast in Nigeria

Other Notable Podcasts in Africa

  • Some of the podcasts recommended by individuals working in the African media industry include What’s Crap on WhatsApp (South Africa), Nipe Story (Kenya), Sound Africa, and others.
  • The I Said What I Said podcast is one of the largest podcasts in Nigeria.
  • The Kill Switch is another popular podcast created by Volume.

Did this report spark your curiosity?

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