United States (US) non-profit organisation (NPO) Worldreader has signed deals with two Zimbabwean publishers to establish digital publication of literature.
Bulawayo-based Ama Books and Weaver Press are to be beneficiaries of digital publication on Kindle and mobile platform through an app.
King George VI, a Bulawayo-based school, also benefited from digital titles as donated by the NPO.
Aiming to supply one million children with literature by 2015, Worldreader is known for its distribution of digital text on e-readers and feature phones in emerging markets.
Apart from Zimbabwe, the organisation also has ongoing projects in Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania.
Elizabeth Hensick, director of publishing and mobile platforms at Worldreader, said: “When we first started working in Ghana, we were paying $289 for a Kindle, now we’re getting them for $59,” referring to the challenge of equipping recipients with required tech tools.
She added: “The device cost is coming down drastically,” TechZim reported.
Whereas electricity is still a challenge in the country, the long battery duration of two and a half hours aids in making e-reading a sustainable practice.
Called biNu, the feature phone-based Worldreader app, has gained significant popularity in Zimbabwe.
Individual access to literature has increased through biNU, boasting with 534,000 reader acquisition per month.
With a 100 per cent increase since March 2012, the app has also reached an estimated million page reads per day.
