When Wessam Abozeid went to school in Egypt, his commute lasted over an hour. Along the way, the Giza-native would get tired of repeating his playlist several times and there wasn’t much to listen to on the radio while driving with friends.
“We have the longest commute times in the world. In Egypt, it’s 84 minutes,” Abozeid said. “There’s definitely a gap in terms of the need for something to hear, especially if it’s entertaining and has value for you.”
There has been a podcast boom in the U.S., with companies like Gimlet Media and Stitcher connecting creators with resources and sponsorships. In 2018, nearly 44 percent of Americans aged 12 years old or older listened to a podcast at least once, up from 11 percent in 2006, according to the Pew Research Center.
But where can Arabic speakers abroad find and create podcasts of their own? A University of Chicago College New Venture Challenge winner wants to be the answer.
Abozeid won $15,000 earlier this month in UChicago's annual undergraduate startup challenge for his company PODU, which aims to be one of the first podcasting platforms for Arabic speakers. Most of the funding will go toward marketing the platform to potential listeners and creatives, Abozeid said.
“The idea first came to me last summer,” Abozeid said. “I started reading research and reports, and I realized that most people don’t understand English that well … The language barrier is really a problem.”
On PODU, podcasters will be able to produce Arabic-language podcasts and monetize their shows. For now, the platform will host podcasts in four genres: comedy, sports, education and storytelling, Abozeid said.
In the future, PODU may offer a premium, ad-free subscription service, Abozeid said. Sowt, another podcast platform for Arabic speakers, has received grants from the European Endowment for Democracy, and often features programming aimed at promoting democracy, he said. Though he is glad that Sowt has started up and wants to collaborate with the platform, Abozeid also said entertainment is critical for podcasting to spread in the Middle East.
“We will try to avoid any contentious political topics on our podcasts,” Abozeid said. “This is something in general that the Middle East faces, but we also try to give as much of a voice to the people. I think there’s a middle ground where we can offer something of value that is not censored.”
Though the market for iOS in Egypt is relatively small, PODU will be available on both iOS and Android. Given the popularity of the Android, the company will focus on developing the Android component first, he said.
PODU users can start listening to shows on the platform for free now, but the platform may introduce a premium subscription service in the future, he said. To get started, the company has been reaching out to popular YouTube personalities in Egypt with the goal of raising more funding in 2020 to expand into Algeria, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria and other Arabic-speaking countries.
“We want it to be something that unites the Arab world,” Abozeid said. “Hopefully in year five, we’ll have audience[s] everywhere in the 22 Arab countries.”
