OkadaBooks was a

self-publishing Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fro ...

and

bookselling Bookselling is the commercial trading of books, which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, book people, bookmen, or bookwomen. History The foundi ...

platform based in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, founded by Okechukwu Ofili in 2013. It was selected by

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

's "Google for Start-up Accelerator" in 2017. In 2018, it hosted a writing competition in partnership with

Guaranty Trust Bank Guaranty Trust Holding Company PLC also known as GTCO PLC is a multinational financial services group, that offers retail and investment banking, pension management, asset management and payments services, headquartered in Victoria Island, Lago ...

called "''Dusty Manuscript''".

History

OkadaBooks was founded by Okechukwu Ofili in 2013. The name is a combination of

okada Okada (written: 岡田 literally "hill rice-paddy") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese painter * Doris Okada Matsui, American politician of the Democratic Party *, Japanese painter in the Edo period *, Japanese ...

– a motorcycle taxi typically used to circumvent traffic in Nigeria and other West African countries – and books. The platform was started when the founder was still an author at ''

BellaNaija ''BellaNaija'' is a Nigerian lifestyle, entertainment, and fashion website headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. History BellaNaija was founded by Uche Eze in 2006. In its early form, BellaNaija featured scanned magazine articles, pictures, and in ...

'' and ''

YNaija ''YNaija'' is a Nigerian online content publishing platform, founded by Chude Jideonwo and Adebola Williams of RED Africa media group. ''YNaija'' launched in May 2010 with columnists and various news sources. It offers news, original content ...

'', and was frustrated at the fact that bookshops were not paying him for books already sold. OkadaBooks offers books as mobile phone downloads. On 30 November 2023, the platform was closed with the owners citing "insurmountable challenges" as the reason.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Companies based in Lagos Digital press Self-publishing companies Self-publishing online stores