In a move to expand its reach and connect cultures through a multilingual digital library, French digital reading platform, YouScribe, has partnered with Digital Virgo and MTN to launch its services in Ghana.
Expanding the digital reading library in Ghana is an ambitious step as the platform aims to provide Ghanaian readers with access to a diverse catalog of content. This includes nearly 200,000 English-language e-books, numerous print titles, and thousands of audiobooks and comics.
To make the platform accessible to Ghanaian readers, YouScribe has partnered with local publishers such as Adaex Edu, Subsaharan Publishers and the African Books Collective to curate a selection of content tailored specifically for the Ghanaian audience. This strategic partnership allows the platform to offer a more differentiated and localized reading experience.
According to YouScribe founder and CEO Juan Pirlot de Corbion, “The launch of YouScribe in Ghana is an important and ambitious step in our ambition to connect cultures through a multilingual digital library with authors from across the continent.”
With this development, prospective readers in Ghana will be able to register on the platform for a daily fee of GHβ΅0.75 (approximately US$0.06), giving them access to the extensive digital directory.
Ghana now joins South Africa as the second English-speaking country to welcome the YouScribe platform. The platform is already present in about 11 French-speaking African countries, including Tunisia, Senegal, CΓ΄te d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Morocco, Guinea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mali.
The rise of local writers using digital platforms to share their stories with a global audience has fueled the industry’s growth. According to Statista, Ghana’s e-publishing market is expected to generate revenue of US$35.49 million in 2024, at a CAGR of 4.09% (2024-2027), resulting in a forecast market volume of US$40.02 million until 2027.
Renaud Ganascia, Digital Virgo’s head of sales in Africa, highlighted the social and societal impact of the platform, stating that the company will continue to work with MTN and YouScribe to reach a large number of mobile customers across the continent.
Amidst this development, a Statista report revealed that in the third quarter of 2023, 99.7 percent of Internet users in Ghana had a smartphone, with Internet penetration of about 70 percent as of January 2024, indicating a favorable environment to expand the digital reading platform.