As the world marks World Audio Drama Day on October 30, Ghana’s digital audio scene is showing signs of economic potential, with new opportunities emerging for creators, media houses, and advertisers. While traditional radio remains dominant, the rise of podcasts and audio narrative productions suggests that the audio drama format could become a meaningful contributor to the country’s creative economy in the near term.
Recent projections show Ghana’s music, radio, and podcast market is expected to generate revenue of 26.71 million dollars in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 6.17 percent through to 2030, when the value is forecast to reach 36.02 million dollars, according to Statista Market Forecast. Within that broad figure, on demand audio content such as podcasts and dramatized audio stories presents a relatively small but fast growing opportunity for local producers and businesses.
In Ghana, the number of podcast and audiobook listeners stands at approximately 296,753, according to audience measurement firm Start.io. The overwhelming majority of those listeners, 80.2 percent, are aged between 25 and 34. That demographic trend aligns with digital savvy urban consumers who favor audio content they can consume on the go rather than live radio broadcasts.
Moreover, a recent overview of Ghana’s on demand audio ecosystem found roughly 100 Ghanaian podcasts had been launched between 2022 and 2024, marking an 85 percent growth in listenership on platforms such as Spotify. The report pointed to a small but growing audio advertising market, with local sponsorships beginning to test the waters.
For content producers, this creates a potential business model. Audio drama, which consists of scripted, edited, and produced narrative audio content, can command listener attention while requiring lower production costs compared to video. In Ghana, the infrastructure to support voices in Ghanaian languages is also improving. The Bureau of Ghana Languages recently inaugurated a recording and podcast studio designed to support high quality voice recording and editing for creators.
Yet despite the favorable trends, significant barriers remain. The measurement of audio audiences remains weak in the Ghanaian context, and advertisers remain cautious. According to one analysis, the local audio advertising market was estimated at about 0.6 million dollars for 2025, suggesting modest revenue for local producers despite rising listener numbers.
Furthermore, high quality production of audio drama requires investment in scripting, voice actors, sound design, and editing resources that many independent Ghanaian creators may lack. The gap between growing listener interest and limited monetization infrastructure poses a challenge for the sector’s immediate expansion.
From a business strategy perspective, Ghanaian media houses and creative firms should consider several approaches. First, repurposing existing talk radio and storytelling content into serialized audio drama or narrative podcast form offers an efficient entry point. Second, creators could explore dual language productions in English and a local Ghanaian language to widen audience reach. Third, advertisers should explore programmatic sponsorship models in audio format, especially within commuter segments where mobile listening is highest.
For the actors in Ghana’s creative economy, this also signals opportunity. Ghana’s National Creative Economy is increasingly seen as a source of jobs and export potential. Audio drama adds to the toolkit by offering a medium with low bandwidth requirements for diaspora distribution and global consumption.
Given the growth of mobile internet access in Ghana’s urban centers and rising smartphone penetration, the portability and intimacy of audio drama are well suited to commuter heavy markets such as Accra and Kumasi. The format allows listeners to engage with content during daily activities, making it particularly attractive for busy urban populations.
In practical terms, the creators of Ghanaian audio dramas should aim to build measurable metrics and reliable data about listenership. This will help unlock advertising revenue and sponsorships. Media houses also need to invest in training voice artists, sound engineers, and scriptwriters who specialize in audio narrative formats. Given the recently established Bureau of Ghana Languages studio facility, there is a public sector enabler ready, but the private sector needs to respond with matching investment and commitment.
World Audio Drama Day, celebrated annually on October 30, commemorates the anniversary of Orson Welles’ 1938 radio broadcast of War of the Worlds, which brought audio drama to mainstream popularity. The day celebrates all forms of audio drama, whether broadcast on radio, streamed online, or performed live, acknowledging the continuing artistry and achievements in narrative audio storytelling.
On this World Audio Drama Day, Ghana stands at a cusp. While the traditional broadcast media landscape remains robust, the audio drama format presents a business viable, culturally relevant, and technology forward medium. For Ghanaian producers, advertisers, and media firms, the time to move beyond simply podcasting into narrative audio storytelling is now.
If Ghana’s creative industry can align production capability, measurement infrastructure, and monetization models, the future of audio drama in Ghana could become a significant growth engine for the media and creative economy. The combination of demographic advantages, improving technical infrastructure, and global trends in audio consumption creates conditions for potential success, provided stakeholders act strategically and collaboratively.
