The fact that YouScribe has reached one million users in Africa is proof positive of the success of its digital book distribution model and a further endorsement of the company’s desire to expand into further countries. For YouScribe, partnering with Edi8 is a confirmation of its mission to increase literacy and education opportunities for people all around the world.

Since its inception in 2011, YouScribe has expanded to cover 11 countries across the African continent, with a total of over one million subscribers. These countries include: Tunisia, Senegal, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Morocco, Madagascar, Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, and South Africa.

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A large North and West African audience, particularly from the countries of Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Guinea, and Ivory Coast. More than half of African YouScribers are under the age of 34, and while most of them are men (51%), there are almost as many women (49%).

The number of subscribers has increased by a factor of 20 in only three years because to this robust and sustained expansion.

African Publishers Rely On YouScribe.

YouScribe was founded with the goal of helping publishers improve their catalogue distribution via the use of digital technology so that they may better aid in the spread of language, culture, and information. If the rise of mobile readership, especially on smartphones (86% of African readers do so), presents a golden chance for publishers to expand into new markets, it also allows for more secure author compensation.

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This is why several hundred of YouScribe’s 1,900 publishers are located in Africa and they receive 60% of the company’s profits.

There is a clear preference among YouScribe’s African audience for literature and works written in regional languages that are otherwise difficult to find. YouScribe places significant emphasis on creating and providing access to an African catalogue.

Since its inception, the library has collaborated with Edi8, a division of the Editis company (Vivendi). By establishing its first African subsidiary in Côte d’Ivoire in 2022, Edi8 demonstrated its commitment to expanding its operations on the continent and its mission to provide a local, relevant, and diverse editorial offer across the continent of Africa. Senegal, where a second company with similar goals was founded the next year (2022).

What Propels YouScribe’s Growth

YouScribe is able to offer its services at the proper price and with a payment mechanism tailored to the reality of the continent because of its success in micro-payment via telecom operators, in addition to its tight relationship with publishers.

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In this way, Digital Virgo, a global leader in mobile payment and digital marketing through billing solutions for telecom carriers, is one of the company’s strategic partners. YouScribe forms partnerships with local publications, TV operators (Canal+ is present in 24 African nations with high growth), and cellphone carriers in every market in which it launches. As a result, YouScribe has partnered with companies including Orange, Maroc Telecom, Ooredoo, Moov, and Inwi. Since 2018, Orange has been a valuable partner in expanding the library over seven nations throughout Africa.

“Gaining a million subscribers so rapidly in Africa is a source of great pride,” YouScribe’s President and Founder Juan Pirlot de Corbion says. “We have everything we need to further our growth in Africa, both in the countries where we are already present and in the emerging markets we hope to enter, such as Algeria and Egypt. Despite the fact that Africa is still our primary focus, we may now expand our efforts to any location where digital technology can enhance and expedite the dissemination of traditional books. Canada is a possibility, but so are Benin, Togo, and Nigeria.” 

“We’ve found great writers and a steadily expanding audience in Africa, so we see publishing there as a key growth area for Edi8. Edi8’s goals include encouraging people to read and encouraging the development of local talent. The relationship with YouScribe is an essential development vector since the streaming library model is especially fitted to applications and relevant for the compensation of writers, in addition to offering protection against piracy,” Vincent Barbare, President of Edi8, adds. 

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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. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexpert