By Mayowa Akeredolu
Millions of people online struggle to understand what is happening in Africa beyond shallow and graphic news headlines. To understand what is happening in Africa, digital audiences have to go through many outdated, weak, inconsistent, and poorly organised sources. There is no single digital media platform that can be relied on for authoritative, personalised coverage of all Africa’s 54 countries.
Founded in 2018, The Republic is the digital subscription media platform changing this by providing world-class, personalised coverage of every African country, from breaking news to in-depth articles. Our long-term vision is to become the de-facto platform for compelling Africa-focused journalism.
Currently, we’re based in Lagos, Nigeria, and we publish to thousands of worldwide readers daily. Our newsroom and editorial team have been recognised by Al Jazeera, Forbes, Quartz, Reuters and the One World Media Awards, for leading a new wave of journalism from the global south. In 2021, The Republic was recognised by the One World Media Awards as one of four independent media organisations globally for offering the most ‘outstanding reporting that informs the public, provides an outlet for local people’s voices, creates a space for critical information and holds those in power to account.’
We are currently revenue-generating and at pre-seed stage, with interest from external investors. For our next phase of growth, we are looking to become even more investable. Jamlab gives us the opportunity to review our business model, growth strategies and growth plans with experts and other startups in similar or more advanced stages. We want to know if our growth/funding targets are realistic, the kinds of growth/funding opportunities we may be overlooking and what we need to do to become even more attractive to subscribers and investors.
The JamLab Accelerator is a six-month hothouse programme for journalism and media innovators. It is based at Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct in the heart of Johannesburg.
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