Kontinentalist
Kontinentalist is a Singapore-based data storytelling studio and editorial publication that produces interactive visual stories on Asia for non-profits, government agencies, think tanks, researchers, and universities via bespoke Studio projects, workshops, and a 160+-story publication.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersSingapore, Singapore
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Kontinentalist does
Kontinentalist is a Singapore-based data storytelling studio and editorial publication founded in 2017 by Pei Ying Loh, operating as part of the Potato Productions group. The company is built around two core lines: a free editorial publication (kontinentalist.com) that has produced over 160 long-form data stories and microstories on Asia-focused topics including climate change, inequality, social justice, urban development, and culture; and Kontinentalist Studio, a bespoke service arm that converts client datasets and research into digital data stories, interactive reports, visualisations, and workshops for non-profits, government agencies, think tanks, researchers, and educational institutions.
The platform is built on a JavaScript/TypeScript front-end stack using Vue 3, Nuxt 3, D3.js, Mapbox, Scrollama.js, GSAP, and Three.js to produce interactive scrollytelling visualisations, dashboards, and visual essays. Supporting products include a Workshop training module (delivered via institutional partners such as Singapore's National Library Board), the Kawan membership community for behind-the-scenes editorial access, and Lapis, a sub-brand targeting the broader community of Asian data storytellers.
Revenue is generated primarily through bespoke Studio project work on a quote-based, contract-by-contract basis, supplemented indirectly by editorial partnerships (e.g., Pulitzer Center, Earth Journalism Network, Oxfam) and workshop engagements. Customer logos span National Library Board, Singapore Art Museum, Ajman University, Playeum, Daughters of Tomorrow, and Thibi. The company employs a small team described as a mix of storytellers, engineers, and designers, with no disclosed external funding rounds and no public listing.
Kontinentalist firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Kontinentalist
- Legal name
- Kontinentalist Pte Ltd
- Website
- https://kontinentalist.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Kontinentalist is a Singapore-based data storytelling studio and editorial publication that produces interactive visual stories on Asia for non-profits, government agencies, think tanks, researchers, and universities via bespoke Studio projects, workshops, and a 160+-story publication.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Kontinentalist industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Data Storytelling Services
- NAICS
- Periodical Publishers (513120), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), All Other Publishers (513199)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Data Storytelling & Collaborative Analytics (HDAEAMAJ), Data & Information Literacy (Search, Evaluation, Misinformation) (EDAAAIAI), Business, Financial & Trade News Publishers (MPAJADAC), Government & Public Policy Publishing (Regulations, Gazettes, Legislative Tracking) (MPAJACAI)
Keywords
Where Kontinentalist is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Singapore
- HQ country
- Singapore
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Kontinentalist business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Studio Services: Bespoke data storytelling services for organizations including digital data stories, digital reports, data visualisations, workshops and training. Working with non-profits, government agencies, think tanks, researchers, and organizations with data on Asia.
- Publication: Free public stories on the kontinentalist.com website covering Asia-focused data journalism topics. Revenue may come from partnerships and sponsored content.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom project-based pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Kontinentalist product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Kontinentalist operates a bespoke data storytelling studio that helps organizations with data and research on Asia turn their findings into engaging digital stories, reports, and data visualizations. Its Kontinentalist Studio delivers digital data stories, reports, visualizations, workshops, and consulting to non-profits, government agencies, think tanks, and researchers, while the kontinentalist.com publication publishes free Asia-focused data journalism stories that showcase capabilities and build audience.
Product overview
Kontinentalist operates as a multi-product data storytelling studio and editorial publication focused on Asia. Its portfolio consists of the main Kontinentalist Publication (kontinentalist.com) — a data journalism platform publishing long-form stories and microstories about Asia — and Kontinentalist Studio (studio.kontinentalist.com), a bespoke storytelling service that creates digital data stories, reports, and visualisations for organisations. Supporting these core offerings are the Workshop (a data hygiene and visualisation training module), Kawan (a membership community), and Lapis (a product marketing sub-brand). Together these products form a vertically integrated data storytelling operation: the publication demonstrates editorial methodology and reach; the studio monetises that expertise by serving clients; and the community and marketing sub-brands extend engagement with specific audience segments.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Studio: The bespoke storytelling arm that helps organisations with data and research on Asia get their voices heard through digital data stories, reports, and data visualisations.
- Kawan
- Lapis
Products and services
- Kontinentalist Studio Bespoke data storytelling service that helps organisations with data and research on Asia turn their findings into engaging digital data stories, reports, data visualisations, workshops, and consulting. Targets non-profits, government agencies, think tanks, researchers, and fellow data enthusiasts.
- Workshop (Data Hygiene and Visualization Training)
- Kawan Membership Community
Quantifiable outcome
- 160+ published data stories covering Asia-focused topics
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Kontinentalist
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Kontinentalist technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability5 records
Feature2 records
Kontinentalist partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- ThibiminorData + design consultancy partnership on Myanmar copy songs story. Thibi works in the space between data and design, building data-driven cultures and technologies.
- Earth Journalism NetworkminorStory produced with support from Internews' Earth Journalism Network - a global network of reporters and media outlets focused on improving environmental reporting.
- Southeast Asia GlobeminorCollaborative partnership on Cambodia monkey trade investigation story. Southeast Asia Globe is a regional news outlet.
- Pulitzer Center's Rainforest Investigations NetworkminorInvestigation on Cambodian macaque trade produced in collaboration with Pulitzer Center's Rainforest Investigations Network.
- OxfamminorCollaboration with Oxfam on COVID-19 wealth gap story in Asia. Oxfam is a global movement working to end injustice of poverty.
- The Everyday Museum (Singapore Art Museum)coreCommission by The Everyday Museum for desire paths infographic. The Everyday Museum is a public art initiative by Singapore Art Museum commissioning diverse art projects.
- National Library BoardcorePartnership with NLB for data hygiene workshop at library@harbourfront as part of NLB's Demystifying Tech programme. NLB nurtures readers, learners, and discoveries through Singapore's public libraries.
- PlayeumcoreCollaboration with Playeum on children's voices data visualization poster. Playeum is an independent charity championing children through play and arts.
- LEGO GroupminorSupported Playeum's children's voices report which Kontinentalist visualized. LEGO Group provided support for the project.
- Daughters of TomorrowcoreCollaboration on Social Mobility Research Programme data story. Daughters of Tomorrow is a Singapore charity connecting volunteers and resources to enable lower-income women.
- Ajman UniversitycoreDeveloped interactive world map for Ajman University to visualize their global connections. Ajman University is a private, non-profit university in UAE.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Kontinentalist competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- FiveThirtyEight: Data-driven editorial brand covering politics, culture, and economics with statistical analysis and interactive visualizations. Larger incumbent in the data journalism space with comparable storytelling format, though broader geographic scope than Kontinentalist's Asia focus.
- South China Morning Post: Major Asia-focused news publication producing data-driven investigative and feature journalism. Shares Kontinentalist's Asia editorial mandate but operates at far larger scale with traditional subscription and advertising revenue rather than bespoke studio work.
- Bloomberg Graphics: In-house graphics team producing interactive data visualizations and visual journalism for Bloomberg. Comparable craft and technology (D3.js, scrollytelling, maps) to Kontinentalist Studio, but embedded within a global financial media organization.
- Reuters Graphics: In-house data visualization and interactive storytelling team within Reuters, producing award-winning scrollytelling and visual journalism. Comparable to Kontinentalist's craft, but operating as part of a much larger news organization rather than an independent studio.
Emerging players
- Flourish: Data visualization SaaS platform used by newsrooms for interactive charts, scrollytelling, and maps. Adjacent to Kontinentalist's tooling — Flourish is referenced as a tool in their workflow — but represents a potential productized competitor to Kontinentalist Studio's bespoke services.
- Datawrapper: Data visualization tool widely used by newsrooms to create charts, maps, and tables without coding. Comparable as part of the data-viz ecosystem serving journalism, but offers self-serve tooling rather than the bespoke studio services Kontinentalist provides.
Direct peers
- Rest of World: Publication covering technology and society outside the Western bubble, with strong Asia coverage and data-led storytelling. Most thematically aligned peer to Kontinentalist given shared mission of elevating non-Western narratives, though with broader geographic scope.
- Our World in Data: Non-profit publication producing data-driven research-driven storytelling on global issues with interactive charts and open data. Comparable to Kontinentalist in its mission-led, data-narrative format and workshop/research ethos, though with a global rather than Asia focus.
- The Pudding: Digital publication specializing in visual essays and data-driven long-form stories combining editorial narrative with custom interactive visualizations. Closely comparable to Kontinentalist's publication arm in format, technology stack (D3.js, scrollytelling), and audience proposition.
Regional players
- Southeast Asia Globe: Regional news outlet covering Southeast Asia with investigative and feature journalism. Direct partner of Kontinentalist, and shares the regional Asia focus and editorial-style coverage of under-reported issues.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Kontinentalist social profiles
Digital presenceKontinentalist financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Kontinentalist leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Kontinentalist funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Kontinentalist M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Kontinentalist
What does Kontinentalist do?
Kontinentalist operates a bespoke data storytelling studio that helps organizations with data and research on Asia turn their findings into engaging digital stories, reports, and data visualizations. Its Kontinentalist Studio delivers digital data stories, reports, visualizations, workshops, and consulting to non-profits, government agencies, think tanks, and researchers, while the kontinentalist.com publication publishes free Asia-focused data journalism stories that showcase capabilities and build audience.
Is Kontinentalist a public or private company?
Kontinentalist is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Kontinentalist founded?
Kontinentalist was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Kontinentalist based?
Kontinentalist is headquartered in Singapore, Singapore, in the Asia region.
How does Kontinentalist make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Studio Services are the primary driver. The others are publication.
Who are Kontinentalist's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are FiveThirtyEight, South China Morning Post, Bloomberg Graphics and Reuters Graphics. Emerging players are Flourish and Datawrapper. Direct peers are Rest of World, Our World in Data and The Pudding. Southeast Asia Globe is listed as a regional player.
Does Kontinentalist have an API?
No public API is recorded for Kontinentalist.
What industry is Kontinentalist in?
Kontinentalist's product category is Data Storytelling Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJADAF, Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations, with a secondary code of HDAEAMAJ, Data Storytelling & Collaborative Analytics. Its NAICS code is 513120 and its SIC code is 2721.