Mpoomy Ledwaba Receives A Share Of Spotify’s R1,8 Million Africa Podcast Initiative Fund. Spotify has invested $100K into new Africa Podcast Fund initiative. Grant aims to support careers of up-and-coming podcasters across the continent.
Throughout its launch across Africa, top global streaming platform Spotify has demonstrated its commitment to bolstering the careers of African creators through on- and off-platform support programmes. In line with this, the company has announced a first-of-its-kind podcast initiative on the continent, the Africa Podcast Fund, with the goal of supporting podcasters and further amplifying their stories. The $100,000 fund aims to bolster the careers of these podcast creators through financial grants, workshops and networking opportunities.
The Africa Podcast Fund is offered to select creators from African countries with the biggest podcast listenerships, namely South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana. The grant also includes a Cameroonian podcast with large listenerships 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 fund will be administered by Africa Podfest, a Kenyan-based company focused on inspiring and elevating African podcasters by building a sustainable and inclusive podcasting industry across Africa.
“Africa Podfest is 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, Africa Podfest.
Check out the SA podcasts which are recipients of the fund.
- After School Is After School with Sis G.U, hosted by Gugulethu Nyatsumba, aims to speak more openly and honestly about the battles that Gugulethu continues to face in her 20s. The podcast seeks to foster a connection with the audience, with sharing life lessons and inspiring emotional growth.
- South African podcast The Journey Kwantu, hosted by Vusumzi Ngxande, explores and questions matters around African spirituality and identity. On each episode, Vusumzi holds a conversation with a guest to dig into the most complex issues around African beliefs.
- Convos & Cocktails with Lesego Tlhabi is a podcast hosted by the prominent South African satirist, best known for her character Coconut Kelz. The focus of Lesego’s podcast is candid conversations that “we, as black women, want to have… but often don’t”.
Independent emerging podcasters with growing audiences were selected as recipients for the fund, with a focus on supporting podcasts that showcase a range of voices in terms of varying podcast formats, gender, language and content. It is through initiatives such as these that Spotify’s goal of further platforming African creators on a global scale can be realised – a goal central to shifting a historically restrictive view of storytelling out of and about the continent.
