Ugandan startup Yee FM has developed an AI-powered platform that distributes open-access e-books and audiobooks to thousands of users.
Founded in 2023, Yee FM has aggregated more than 150,000 open-access textbooks, journals, novels, and other e-books, as well as more than 35,000 audiobooks, and makes them available to users via its web and mobile applications.
The startup already has more than 2,000 registered users and 3,000 daily active users, who it allows to access the content, and interact with other users via chat functionality. It charges US$1.50 per week, or US$5 per month, for unlimited access, and already has paying subscribers.
Yee FM identified several issues with existing open-access book distribution, founder Nkugwa Mark William told Disrupt Africa.
“Poor distribution of high-quality, professionally reviewed open-access books; fragmentation of content across multiple sites and formats; lack of ongoing translation and cultural adaptation after initial funding; and absence of supplementary content like solution books…” he lists them.
Yee FM addresses these gaps by aggregating and reassembling scattered content into complete, easily accessible e-books, and providing comprehensive indexing and AI-powered explanations. It also offers multilingual support and text-to-speech functionality, while creating a unified platform for various types of content.
The startup has seen decent initial uptake, and is now striving for further growth. Funded by friends and family, while utilising credits obtained from Microsoft Startup Hub, Yee FM was one of 15 startups recently selected for the second phase of the e-Track programme run by UCT GSB Solution Space and ayoba, which helps early-stage ventures move from proof of concept to investment readiness.
Currently, Yee FM supports five languages – French, Swahili, Arabic, English, and Spanish – which gives it a potential global reach.
“We want to allow authors to distribute on Yee FM and take advantage of the technology. Imagine an author publishing their content can easily be listened to and consumed by many others, who don’t even know English, or who prefer to listen to it instead of reading. And at no cost – just publish and distribute,” William said.
