Why the Book is still King in Africa

Cover via Amazon

While the West is fretting about the e-book revolution, in Africa, it’s not even a factor for the majority of people. Although changing slowly, there is still a large technological gap on the continent. Much has been made about the growing “Facebook generation,” but the truth is that only a small percentage of people have access to the internet and fewer still have access to e-readers; millions of people will live their lives without ever seeing a computer, let alone a Kindle. In countries where constant electricity is considered as a luxury, there is still an enormous need for the physical book. In tiny villages across Nigeria, families can still point to their palm-oil stained copies of classic books. And the fact that copies of our books have been sighted in the remotest of villages in Nigeria shows that the physical book is still very much important here.