Arabic Audiobook Platform Kitab Sawti Partners with Careem KSA

Arabic audiobook production and distribution platform Kitab Sawi has just announced it is joining forces with ride-hailing giant Careem. Careem riders in Saudi Arabia can now redeem points from the reward system for subscriptions on the Kitab Sawti app.

The audiobook app has seen a huge surge in downloads since the coronavirus outbreak started, reporting a 204% growth in total paid users, with most joining between January through May 2020.

“New habits have flourished during lockdowns across the Middle East, and we have seen that coincide precisely with the growth in the number of users on the app across markets,” says Sebastian Bond, founder of Kitab Sawti. “We expect these new behavior patterns to persist as part of their routines.”

Since lockdowns imposed by the pandemic, audio streaming has seen a notable growth among the overall media entertainment industry. On a global level, there’s been a 35% growth in audiobook streaming, according to statistics portal Statista, with a similar steady growth in podcast listening. “Audio content provides a resilient production cycle, even though [it has been] affected by the pandemic,” adds Bond. “It’s faster and cost-efficient to adapt to new times.”