Post on Medium posted on 19th April 2023 by publishingperspectives.com
‘When Did Publishing in Africa Actually Begin?’
Among the first sessions of London Book Fair‘s opening day, April 18, “Journey of African Publishing” featured appearances by several prominent members of the International Publishers Association.
Speakers included:
- Lawrence Njagi, managing director of Mountain Top Educational Publishers in Kenya
- Mercy Kirui, senior manager for content at eKitabu in Kenya
- Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, founder and publishing director of Cassava Republic Press in Nigeria and the UK
- Gbadega Adedapo, CEO and managing director of Accessible Publishers in Nigeria
Wafawarowa began by saying that the journey of African publishing has been very arduous, although publishing industry players today began working in the 1980s and 1990s on ground that had already been prepared for them. Today, content is increasingly coming from the continent itself, he said, and people are going through a digital transition.
Publishers have started to use technology for processing and packaging, and an increasing number of platforms are being created to provide access to information. Technology can be used to assess cataloguing, to track how information is being used, and to measure the impact of what you’re providing. But “technology is not the solution to everything", said Mercy Kirui.