India’s non-English literature now has a fast-growing corner of its own on the internet

For those comfortable with reading and writing in English, it can be hard to imagine what it’s like to experience a world of limited content. And yet, that’s just what millions of Indians face online every day.

Even as social media giants such as Facebook and WhatsApp, and browsers such as Alibaba’s UC, increasingly support a range of Indian languages, regional language content still accounts for well below 1% of the internet.

So, since 2015, a self-publishing startup has been opening the door to more longform content in these underrepresented languages. Bengaluru-based Pratilipi is building a bridge between writers and readers looking for fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and more in Hindi, Gujarati. Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, and Bengali.

The company started out with a website and now has an app with over a million downloads on the Google Play Store and a 4.8 star rating. In February, it raised $4.3 million in a series A round of funding that was led by the Omdiyar Network, and its young founders made it to Forbes India’s 30 under 30 2018 list.

Long before all this, though, 29-year-old co-founder Ranjeet Pratap Singh was just another Indian trying desperately to find something to read.