Podcasting began little under two decades ago and has since evolved into one of the internet’s most popular content genres.
Across Africa, the new type of digital audio material has progressively gained traction, developing as a potent platform for storytelling, information sharing, and entertainment.
Podcasting in Africa stems from the global podcasting craze, which was fueled by the advent of cellphones and greater internet access.
It has now evolved into a vibrant medium for Africans to shape narratives, engage in discussions, and celebrate their experiences and voices on a global scale.
The continent’s extraordinary diversity enriches the podcasting environment by providing audiences with a multitude of diverse viewpoints and narratives to explore.
African podcasts are available in a variety of languages, including Kiswahili, Yoruba, isiZulu, and English, which are spoken in half of the continent’s 54 countries.
In Nigeria, for example, where podcast output is primarily in English, podcast listenership has grown at an exponential rate in recent years, expanding by 222% between 2021 and 2022. The HonestBunch Podcast, I Said What I Said, Menisms, So Nigerian and Tea with Tay are the top local podcasts in the hearts of Nigerian listeners.
During the International Podcast Day celebration, Ncebakazi Manzi, Spotify’s Podcast Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, linked this podcast consumption trend to Generation Z (Gen Z). In Sub-Saharan Africa, Gen Z has the highest rate of listenership, accounting for 39% of total streams.
Here are the top five African Spotify countries with the most podcast listeners, according to Spotify.
1 South Africa
2 Nigeria
3 Kenya
4 Ghana
5 Angola
