6 Jun · Zainab Diallo
The commute is our prime time
Programming a catalogue around matatu and bus journeys, and the episode lengths that followed.
44 min33.9k
Overview
What Baobab Media does
Baobab Media is an East African audiobook studio and distribution platform, publishing in Swahili, English, Amharic, Yoruba, Hausa, French and Somali.
Built around mobile money rather than cards, and around commutes rather than living rooms, the company cut the cost of a listen by roughly 70% through compression, offline downloads and telco partnerships. Its narrator programme trains radio presenters and teachers into a professional voice pool.
- Founded
- 2018
- Team
- 60 people
- Headquarters
- Nairobi, Kenya
- Industry
- Audiobooks
- Website
- baobabmedia.co.ke
900k
monthly listeners
Footprint
Locations
4 offices · 60 people mapped
Nairobi
Kenya
Head office & recording booths
34 peopleSince 2018Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Amharic production
9 peopleSince 2021Houston
United States
North American catalogue
12 peopleSince 2022Dakar
Senegal
Francophone distribution
5 peopleSince 2025
The people
Related entrepreneurs
On demand
Past interviews
Next on air: Mon 7 Sep · 16:00 GMT
27 Feb · Zainab Diallo
Licensing African rights for audio
Negotiating with estates and publishers who had never sold audio rights before.
40 min18.5k