Dubai Cares: OkadaBooks Receives African Publishing Innovation Fund

In recognition of our strides towards literary growth in Africa, OkadaBooks has been selected alongside six other platforms to receive grants from Dubai Cares and the International Publishers Association for the promotion of literacy, book access, indigenous languages, and library restoration in Africa.

OkadaBooks will receive a $20,000 grant from the Africa Publishing Innovation Fund created by the International Publishers Association and Dubai Cares. With this, we will further drive literacy by giving teachers, students, and parents free access to books their children can relate to, via mobile phones, which are widespread and affordable. We will also generate and distribute Nigerian content, and identify new talents through writing competitions.

At the Sharjah International Book Fair Publishers Conference and following the Award ceremony, His Excellency, Dr. Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares said: “We are very excited to award the most innovative projects that will have a tremendous impact on promoting literacy, book access, indigenous languages and library restoration in the African continent. Through this partnership, Dubai Cares will closely work with IPA for the next four years with a range of local partners, including publishers, policymakers and civil society, to implement innovative and replicable solutions to transform the future of African publishing, promote approaches to longstanding publishing industry challenges and catalyze stakeholder co-investment.”

Other recipients of the grant are: Accord Literary (Ghana), Cassava Republic (Nigeria), Positively African (Kenya), Puku Foundation (South Africa), Kakuma (Kenya), and Book Bunk (Kenya).

OkadaBooks remains committed to furthering the gospel of books – writing and reading. Thank you Dubai Cares and The IPA for helping to make this mission easier.

The project kicks-off in January 2020; we can’t wait for what promises to be a truly impactful phase in the growth of literacy in Nigeria and the whole of Africa.