Two tech innovators have created a diverse online audio platform for amplifying Ethiopia’s tradition of storytelling. The company’s name is Teraki, the Amharic word for storyteller, and its two founding entrepreneurs, Nahom Tsegaye and Abel Engida are developing audiobooks and podcasts in various Ethiopian languages including Amharic, Tigrinya and Afaan Oromoo, mostly written by popular Ethiopian authors. They’re hoping to expand their company’s global reach with a recent financial and technical investment by Renew Capital. So far, Teraki has 38,000 users listening to everything from novels, self-help books and children’s literature to podcasts on tech, entrepreneurship, interpersonal relationships, spirituality and current affairs. They have also developed some 80 podcasts on many of those same topics, and about half of them are run like talk shows.
According to UN World Population Prospects 2022, Ethiopia has a population of 120 million, of which 70% is under the age of 30. The Ethiopian government estimates that there are an additional three million Ethiopians living abroad. This provides Teraki plenty of room for expansion. Teraki knows the diaspora is as Ethiopian as their compatriots living in the mother country, and they are confident their company can strengthen those connections, while reinforcing the linguistic and cultural identities of Ethiopian immigrants and expatriates, especially children enrolled in schools without their home languages. “It’s a really exciting project because we’re planning not only to shine a light on these local talents, but also trying to reach out to this global community” said Engida. As such, Teraki’s technology platform represents a wonderful opportunity to bring this massive Ethiopian community together to preserve its storytelling traditions while generating modern conversations.
The entrepreneurs began the project in 2019 with just $2,000, using those funds to recruit Ethiopian voiceover and acting talent to record narrations of some of their nation’s most popular books. As of November, the platform had an estimated 38,000 users listening to everything from novels, self-help books and children’s literature to podcasts on tech, entrepreneurship, interpersonal relationships, spirituality and current affairs.
“Our generation is highly and increasingly dependent on technology, and Ethiopian youth are increasingly using Teraki to understand different current affairs and define our place in this world,” said co-founder Nahom Tsegaye. “The youth really don’t have that connection with their elders and those storytellers,” said co-founder Abel Engida.
Teraki says over half of its more than 80 podcasts also create opportunities for Ethiopians to create a greater sense of community through online conversation. “We wanted to give a platform to everyone to discuss what it’s like to experience feminism, sexism, relationships and other topics and what they mean in our own context,” said Engida.
Press Release from Renew Capital – Byline: Julienne Gage
Renew Capital is an Africa-focused impact investment firm bringing together for-purpose investors, blended finance partners and African entrepreneurs to accelerate the growth of Africa’s private sectors with offices in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda.