Africa’s publishing sector hits 5.4% of global revenue

… UNESCO, GPA push for industry policy framework

By Christabel DANSO ABEAM

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has urged Ghana to hasten the adoption of its National Book, Reading and Textbook Procurement policies to leverage on the country’s potential within Africa’s publishing sector, which currently contributes 5.4 percent of global revenue.

A speech read on behalf of Head of Office-Accra, UNESCO, Mr. Edmond Moukala – at the 48th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Ghana Publishers Association (GPA) – expressed that strong and coherent policies can transform the publishing sector into a catalyst for literacy, culture and economic growth.

A 2023 report from the Ghana Book Development Council (GBDC) shows that respondents from printing firms captured a revenue of GH?151.8million from book printing for the domestic market, while export sales of hard-copy books was GH?163.4million, of which textbooks contributed GH?122.9million.

Meanwhile, market forecast data from Statista estimate the country’s book market to reach GH?165.3million in revenue by 2025.

Even though comprehensive data on how much the sector contributes to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is not yet available, these records highlight the industry’s capacity to contribute in educational and economic objectives.

UNESCO views publishing not only as commerce, but also a cornerstone of cultural expression, literacy and lifelong learning, noting that: “Aligned with strong, coherent policies, it will create an enabling environment where talent, innovation and investment can flourish, supporting education reforms and stimulating the creative economy.”

Globally, the publishing industry’s contribution is significant to economies, according to UNESCO.

The speech goes on to reveal that in the United Kingdom, books and journals add £7.8billion to the economy and support 70,000 jobs – but across Africa, the sector represents an untapped opportunity that could grow to US$18.5billion with sound reforms. 

GPA on AI

The  Ghana Publishers Association (GPA) president, in an interview with B&FT at the AGM, expressed that rather than threatening the publishing industry’s existence, Artificial Intelligence (AI) instead brings about vast opportunities, enhances content creation, distribution and access to knowledge.

Mr. Asare Konadu Yamoah said: “Publishers are not threatened by digital advancement but will rather leverage it to transform the sector. The publishing industry  cannot be extinct, that would mean education is finished. The content that goes into physical books and digital tablets are developed by publishers. Technology only enhances what we do, it does not replace us”.

He further acknowledged the significant improvement technological innovations have on publishing workflows – from writing and editing to digital dissemination.

“Today, we can easily transfer across the world. Technology has made the publishing industry more efficient and brought about opportunities,” he explained.

Call for Clear Policy Frameworks

Speaking on the event’s theme, ‘Policy as a Catalyst: Transforming Ghana’s Publishing Ecosystem for National Development’, Mr.Yamoah noted that embracing AI is not the biggest game-changer for the publishing sector – but rather developing robust policy frameworks to guide and protect the industry.

Despite the industry’s vital role in education,  culture and national development, the GPA president lamented the publishing sector not having clear policy guidelines.

To him, every industry must be guided and facilitated. “Unfortunately, we have taken the book business for granted even though it plays a pivotal role in education and the country’s progress,” he stressed.

Due to the absence of systematic policies, accessing funding and support from financial institutions by publishers is difficult, according to Mr. Yamoah.

He then urged collaborative efforts between the Ministry of Education, government and industry stakeholders to create and implement policies that promote procurement, distribution and a culture of reading across the country.

Touching on the sector’s economic significance, he indicated that publishing continues to be a major job enabler – directly and indirectly supporting printers, designers, writers and educators – while citing the publishing department at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) as a space that produces graduates who feed into the sector.

Concluding, he reiterated the Association’s commitment to working with all relevant stakeholders on designing comprehensive national publishing policies. These frameworks, he said, will furnish the industry with clarity on issues such as book marketing, financial support systems, intellectual property rights and procurement.

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