World’s largest Arabic audiobook platform raises $6 million
The world’s largest Arabic Audiobook platform, Kitab Sawti, has raised $6 million in Series A, with plans to further expand its content and reach.
New investors include Bonnier Ventures (VC arm of Sweden-based Bonnier, one of the world’s most renowned publishers), Paltel Group, a public shareholding company, and Kaaf Investments, a family office from Dubai. Other investors included Abdulla Elyas, co-founder of Careem; while Northzone, the VC firm that invested in the platform early on, upped its stake in the Sweden-based startup.
Sebastian Bond, CEO and founder of Kitab Sawti said, “We have witnessed growing consumption of our content over the past period, with more than 1 million registered users and a 20 per cent month-on-month growth in paying users. The next 12 to 18 months will be very exciting for us as we deploy the funds to bolster the platform’s leading position in the Arabic audiobook industry, supporting more than 5,000 new jobs in the industry in the process.”
The Sweden-based audiobook platform was founded in 2016 with the aim to support the integration of Syrian refugee children in Swedish society. It currently has offices in Dubai, Cairo, and Palestine, with more than 2,000 titles.
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