Bidding Farewell To A Pioneer Digital Literary Platform In Africa, Okada Books
Macroeconomics, culture, and a ruthless digital era!
Recently, I read an article on Techcabal about Okada Books shutting down after ten years of operation. They cited rough macroeconomic conditions as the primary reason for their shutdown.
The words of Okechukwu Ofili, the company's CEO on X (formerly Twitter), strike a very sad chord in the hearts of those of us who love books (physical and digital) and are old enough to remember the heyday of Okada Books in Nigeria.Â
"We explored various avenues to keep our virtual bookshelves alive but, unfortunately, the challenges we face are insurmountable."
Okada Books, a pioneer digital library and book publishing/selling platform in Africa, was founded in 2013 by Okechukwu Ofili, a writer himself and an electrical engineering graduate from the University of Houston in the USA, to help Nigerian writers sell their works directly to readers while charging a percentage on every sale.
Why did Okada Books fail? Well, in my opinion, I feel it's more of a cultural challenge than just macroeconomics.
Yes, the economic conditions have also contributed, but if the book and reading culture in Africa had been stronger, maybe Okada Books would have been able to weather the storm and establish itself as a major player in the world of book publishing.
Okada Books made self-publishing easy for Nigerian writers. They created the only solution to a problem then and had no serious competition.
So, what happened?
We know that the present economic climate in Africa is scorching startups to death.
And the surviving ones are barely holding on by the fingertips, hanging on to thin threads that may snap anytime. It's like they are waiting for their last days.
Only a very few African startups have healthy accounts that can take them through the global financial storm, like the mammoth unicorns and the few ones that have heavy financial backing or the big monopolies catering to markets with little or no competition.
Talking about markets with little or no competition.
Okada books ruled in a market with very little competition for years. Why didn't they cement their existence in it and stay rooted? Well, I think it's more of a cultural issue.Â
Africans have a very poor reading culture. Period.Â
Netflix and Showmax are doing very well on the continent (though IrokoTV still struggles to keep up). And Africans don't really care about reading, like those in the Western world.
If more Africans patronise books (offline and online) the way they patronise Netflix and Showmax, companies like Okada Books and other online book-selling/publishing platforms would be at the top of the media food chain in Africa.
We could almost imagine a time when book publishing companies like Okada Books could grow as big as the Amazon Kindle Book Publishing ecosystem! However, the culture here in Africa might not allow book publishers to grow as big as their counterparts in developed parts of the world.
Entertainment provided by the likes of Showmax, Netflix, and YouTube has further made the matter worse. Or maybe Okada Books should have innovated and looked for ways to make reading books more enjoyable and entertaining?Â
I wonder if we still have Africans who can sit down with a big, 350-page novel and completely read it. They may still be out there, but there are very few, and they can't power an economy like Okada Books.Â
The end of Okada Books may signify the end of a digital era.
We are entering an age where it's all about entertainment.
No one wants to go through the mental rigours of reading a book (apart from reading for academic grades and purposes).
We now even have audiobooks (designed for lazy people); an attempt to preserve the age-long sacred culture of reading.
Nothing can replace the art of reading.
Picking the writer's words, inhaling and sucking in their sentences, paragraphs, and pages, trying to understand what they mean, and enjoying every word they put out. The joy of living in the story, escaping through worlds, and standing by the side of characters as they navigate the writer's world.
Nothing can replace this.
Not even a thousand Showmax or Netflix or TikTok or Youtube.
It's not even a literacy problem.Â
According to data available online, The literacy rate in Nigeria reached 77.62% in 2021. So, you see, at least many of us are literate.Â
It's just a cultural issue, made worse by the digital era that has made entertainment cheap and easy to consume.Â
But are we really entertained?Â
I bid farewell to Okada Books. And I wish something more powerful would arise from the ashes.
What do you think? Was it just about macroeconomics or culture? Or do you have another idea? I really want to hear your thoughts.
Welcome to Unbounded. My space on the internet where I share ideas about things that fascinate me.
I write about leadership, innovation, tech (in healthcare and generally), entrepreneurship, business, culture and more.
My ultimate goal is to make my readers better people.
I want them to learn new things and live better lives (it’s that simple, nothing complex).
If you feel attracted to what I am doing here, why not join a growing community of readers learning new things?
Since the time we replaced the art of reading for entertainment, we've began to raise illeterates who pass through school. When we understand that education is not just being a graduate, but in being given to constant learning. Thank you for sharing for sharing sir.