Ethiopian Audiobook and Podcast Startup Teraki Raises New Funding

Teraki, an Ethiopian audiobook and podcast startup, has received funding from Renew Capital, an Africa-focused impact investing firm.

The transaction, which was completed recently for an unknown sum, benefits both Teraki and Ethiopia’s burgeoning audiobook and podcast community.

Teraki co-founder Nahom Tsegaye stated that the fresh money will be used for expansion and growth, with a possible entry into another African market by 2024.

Teraki co-founder Nahom Tsegaye
Teraki co-founder Nahom Tsegaye

“We are very delighted to have the backing, and this marks a significant milestone in Terak’s life,” Nahom said. 

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Teraki, the name of the programme that creates, plays, and disseminates unique Ethiopian audio content, is an Amharic word that literally translates to “The Narrator.”

Teraki was started in 2019 with $2,000 by Nahom Tsegaye and Abel Engida. With the use of these money, Teraki hired Ethiopian voice actors and actors to record narrations for some of their country’s most well-known books.

The creators of Teraki think that on foreign streaming platforms, Ethiopian audio content that is educational and enjoyable is being overshadowed.

When the founders launched Teraki in June 2021, they admitted to Shega that users had trouble finding content, while content producers struggle to advertise their work.

Teraki was created to act as a bridge between listeners and creators after noticing the distance between the two.

As of November, the platform had an estimated 38,000 users who listened to anything from podcasts on tech, entrepreneurship, interpersonal relationships, spirituality, and current events to novels, self-help books, and children’s literature.

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“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 Nahom.

“The youth really don’t have that connection with their elders and those storytellers,” said co-founder Abel Engida.

Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania are all countries with a presence of Renew Capital, which promotes innovative businesses with significant growth potential.

Deliver Addis, a pioneer in food delivery and logistics, Desta Plc, a producer of textiles and apparel, and Mama Fresh Injera, a commercial producer and exporter of fresh-baked injera are a few of the Ethiopian companies that Renew Investments has invested in.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert. 
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard