Cassava Republic, Okada Books, others get publishing grant

Two of Nigeria’s publishing companies, Cassava Republic and Okada Books, are among those given grants, worth $170,000, by Africa Publishing Innovation Fund for publishing-related projects. Cassava Republic will produce and translate 10 children’s books into three Nigerian languages. The aim is to give children access to beautiful, illustrated pictures in their native tongue, to aid […]

Two of Nigeria’s publishing companies, Cassava Republic and Okada Books, are among those given grants, worth $170,000, by Africa Publishing Innovation Fund for publishing-related projects.

Cassava Republic will produce and translate 10 children’s books into three Nigerian languages. The aim is to give children access to beautiful, illustrated pictures in their native tongue, to aid cognitive development and instil cultural confidence at an early age. The independent publisher aims to create a special imprint for local language publishing.

An e-publishing outfit, Okada Books will 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. It will also generate and distribute Nigerian content, identifying new talent through writing competitions.

The grant was given to seven projects across Africa on October 29, including Accord Literary, an authorship and reading initiative in Ghana, which will mentor, develop and encourage African authors in a number of countries writing for young readers.

Positively African, a Kenyan content-creation and literary events company, will invest their share of the money in the Story Jukebox, to make African literature accessible, encourage lifelong learning and help connect communities. It will distribute audio stories Africa-wide via digital platforms and partnerships with universities and centres for the visually impaired. The first phase will focus on Kenyan writing, with the adaptation of eight stories from the Humans of Nairobi anthology.

A South African non-profit that promotes children’s literature, education and literacy in Southern Africa, Puku Foundation is building a digital portal called Pukupedia as a hub for multilingual expertise in children’s literature; nurturing new local talent through writing workshops, online courses and mentoring; and developing reading culture among teachers, librarians, writers, literacy activists and young people.

Also, Kakuma (Kenya), a refugee camp and Book Bunk, a project to restore the McMillan Memorial Library in Nairobi, will receive an equal share of the grant (US$20,000) to implement libraries for the resident students. It is home to refugees from DRC Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia and Uganda among others. The fund will add to the efforts done yearly by other organizations working hard to feed the camp with books and allow young children, mature students and teachers to stay up-to-date and knowledgeable.

Book Bunk, a project to restore the McMillan Memorial Library in Nairobi, has been awarded $50,000 towards work on the library’s Kaloleni branch. It works with the Nairobi authorities to encourage community engagement in libraries, through events, walking tours and film screenings.

The winning bids for a share of the Africa Publishing Innovation Fund were selected after a rigorous process led by a committee of African publishers under the chairmanship of IPA Vice-President, Bodour Al Qasimi.

IPA Vice-President Bodour Al Qasimi said: “To have reached this point in five months is phenomenal, and it’s wonderful to see intentions quickly turn to action. This was a demanding process for all concerned, but for none more than the applicants, who have been under considerable pressure to demonstrate the sustainability and scalability of their ideas. The competition was tough, and every single application received had real potential to bring big benefits to literacy, reading or book accessibility in Africa. This is why the committee has awarded five projects an equal share, to ensure these Dubai Cares grants will impact a broad range of issues and countries.”

The Africa Publishing Innovation Fund was created following the agreement of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, and the International Publishers Association (IPA), the world’s largest trade association for publishers in May 2019. As part of the MoU, Dubai Cares committed AED 2,938,800 (USD 800,000) over four years to expand the reach of IPA’s programs in Africa as well as cooperate on new initiatives at the nexus of sustainable development, education, and publishing.