AOSIS

What AOSIS does

AOSIS (African Online Scientific Information Systems (Pty) Ltd) is a Cape Town–based open access scholarly publisher founded in 1999, operating as Southern Africa's leading open access publisher of journals and books. The company publishes 60+ scholarly journals and 180+ open access books across disciplines including theological studies, healthcare, business management, and the social sciences, distributed globally through DOAJ, Scopus, SciELO SA, OAPEN, CrossMark, and ORCID. Its core technology is built on a Moodle LMS backbone extended into a proprietary eCPD Healthcare platform with course management, quizzes, certificate generation, and CPD tracking, alongside an open access publishing infrastructure handling peer review, copyediting, layout, DOI assignment, print-on-demand, and Creative Commons licensing.

The company monetizes through four streams: recurring CPD membership subscriptions (6-month HPCSA/AHPCSA, 12-month HPCSA/AHPCSA, 12-month Nursing at R395–R845 incl. VAT) and individual specialized CPD course sales (around ZAR 1,272 per course); open access book publication fees; print-on-demand and ePub book sales through books.aosis.co.za; and Moodle LMS partner services and eLearning instructional design. Customers fall into two primary segments — registered South African healthcare professionals (serving 30+ professions under HPCSA, HPCNA, AHPCSA, SANC, and UMDPC accreditation) and academic researchers and higher education institutions (with named institutional partners including University of Pretoria, University of Johannesburg, North-West University, Africa CDC, WONCA Africa Region, and PRIMAFAMED). Go-to-market is hybrid: a self-serve online platform for individual CPD buyers and authors, paired with sales-led outreach to professional bodies and university partnerships for institutional and corporate accounts. AOSIS is privately held and founder/management-led by Managing Director Dr Pierre de Villiers, with no disclosed external funding.

Name

AOSIS

Legal name

African Online Scientific Information Systems (Pty) Ltd

Website

https://aosis.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AOSIS is a Cape Town–based open access scholarly publisher founded in 1999, publishing 60+ journals and 180+ books while operating an accredited eCPD Healthcare platform serving 30+ healthcare professions and providing certified Moodle LMS services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Open Access Scholarly Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313), Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Open Educational Resources (OER) & Open Access Academic Publishing (MPAJABAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Open Access Scholarly Journals & Monographs (EDAGAFAJ), Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC)

Keywords

• Open access publishing
• Scholarly journals
• Continuing professional development
• Healthcare eLearning
• Moodle LMS services

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. CPD Membership Subscriptions: Annual and semi-annual memberships providing access to express CPD courses for healthcare professionals. Includes 6-month HPCSA/AHPCSA, 12-month HPCSA/AHPCSA, and 12-month Nursing memberships at various price points.
2. Individual CPD Course Sales: Purchase of individual specialized courses separate from membership. Courses are longer format with more CPD points per course.
3. Open Access Book Publishing: Publication fees for open access scholarly books. Services include peer reviews, copyediting, layouts, print on demand, marketing, distribution, indexing, and subsidy funding assistance for HEIs.
4. Print-on-Demand Books: Physical copies of open access books available for purchase through AOSIS shop. PDF downloads are free under Creative Commons licenses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

AOSIS publishes open access scholarly journals (60+) and books (180+) with peer review, copyediting, and indexing services. It also offers accredited online continuing professional development (eCPD) courses for healthcare professionals via its own platform, along with certified Moodle LMS implementation and instructional design services for educational institutions.

Product overview

AOSIS is a Southern Africa open access scholarly publisher offering a portfolio of publishing and eLearning products. The core offerings include AOSIS Scholarly Journals (60+ journals with international peer review standards), AOSIS Scholarly Books (180+ published open access books), eCPD Healthcare (accredited online CPD courses for healthcare professionals), and Moodle LMS services (certified partner providing learning management system platforms). Additional offerings include eLearning Instructional Design services for custom interactive content development. The company was established in 1999 and operates as African Online Scientific Information Systems (Pty) Ltd.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• eCPD Healthcare: Online continuing professional development platform for healthcare professionals, offering accredited CPD courses recognized by HPCSA, HPCNA, AHPCSA, SANC, and UMDPC.

Products and services

• AOSIS Scholarly Journals Open access scholarly journal publishing services with international standards, quality peer reviews, indexing services, and publication ethics. AOSIS publishes 60+ scholarly journals covering diverse academic disciplines.
• AOSIS Scholarly Books

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully published 60 scholarly journals and 180+ open access books since 1999
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of PretoriacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Published 'Resilience in a VUCA world' book in partnership with University of Pretoria. Multiple joint book publications with various university departments.
• North-West UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Multiple book publications in partnership including 'Reformed Theology in Africa Series' and 'Biblical Theology of Prayer in the Old Testament'. Hosted Laureatus Awards 2019 at NWU.
• University of Johannesburg (UJ)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Published 'Promoting sustainable local economic development initiatives: Case studies' in partnership with UJ's Center for Local Economic Development (CENLED) and PASCAL.
• COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015AOSIS became a member of COPE, confirming commitment to highest standards of publication ethics and following COPE's Code of Conduct for handling publication misconduct.
• kykNETminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2013Featured on kykNET's Ontbytsake program focusing on Durbanville business sector, providing media visibility for the company.
• DOAJ Advisory BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Dr Pierre de Villiers, Managing Director at AOSIS, was elected to serve on the DOAJ Advisory Board, influencing open access journal standards globally.
• MoodlecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 1999Certified Moodle Partner providing learning management system services. AOSIS creates eLearning Moodle LMS platforms as a certified partner with Moodle – the world's most popular learning management system.
• HPCSA (Health Professions Council of South Africa)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnereCPD courses accredited by HPCSA. AOSIS submits CPD points directly to HPCSA for members. Primary regulatory body for healthcare professional CPD compliance.
• HPCNA (Health Professions Council of South Africa - Nursing)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnereCPD courses approved by HPCNA for nursing professionals. HPCNA has accepted principle of Cross Recognition of CEUs with HPCSA.
• AHPCSA (Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnereCPD courses approved by AHPCSA for complementary medicine practitioners and allied health professionals.
• SANC (South African Nursing Council)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnereCPD courses approved by SANC for nurses and midwives. CPD requirements being phased in as professional requirement.
• UMDPCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnereCPD courses recognized by UMDPC for professional development credit.
• Africa CDC (Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAOSIS publishes the Journal of Public Health in Africa (JPHIA), owned by Africa CDC, supporting public health research across the African continent.
• WONCA Africa RegioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfrican Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine (PHCFM) is the official journal of WONCA Africa Region, supporting family medicine research.
• PRIMAFAMED (Primary Care and Family Medicine Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfrican Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine is the official journal of PRIMAFAMED network, advancing primary care research in Africa.
• South African Academy of Family Physicians (SAAFP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner course on Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy developed with SAAFP. 15% discount offered to SAAFP members. Contributing authors from universities.
• OAPENminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAOSIS published its first open access scholarly book on OAPEN, expanding global reach for academic books through this dedicated platform.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• OAPEN: OAPEN is a non-profit open access book platform/library where AOSIS published its first OA scholarly book. It is an ecosystem peer and distribution channel rather than a direct competitor, but directly comparable in open access scholarly book publishing scope.

Broad incumbents

• Wiley: Wiley is a global research publisher with open access journal programs (including the acquired Hindawi). Comparable to AOSIS as a scholarly journal publisher, particularly in social sciences and humanities where AOSIS has journal holdings, though operating at global incumbent scale.
• Springer Nature: Springer Nature is a global academic publisher with extensive open access (BioMed Central) and traditional publishing. Comparable to AOSIS as a scholarly publisher across STM and HSS, though at vastly larger scale and with broader journal/book portfolio.

Direct peers

• African Journals Online (AJOL): AJOL is a non-profit aggregator and host of African-published open access scholarly journals, the closest geographic and mission peer to AOSIS in African-focused scholarly publishing. Both serve African HEI authors and depend on DOAJ-style indexing.
• PLOS (Public Library of Science): PLOS is a non-profit open access publisher of peer-reviewed journals across life sciences, medicine, and social sciences. Comparable to AOSIS as a peer-reviewed OA journal publisher with DOAJ-indexed output and APC revenue model.
• Dove Medical Press: Dove Medical Press is an open access publisher focused on healthcare, medicine, and pharmaceutical journals. It is directly comparable to AOSIS' health-adjacent journals (e.g., Journal of Public Health in Africa, PHCFM) and shares the APC-funded OA publishing model.
• Hindawi (Wiley): Hindawi was a major open access publisher (now part of Wiley) covering STM and social sciences journals. Highly comparable to AOSIS in OA journal publishing model and cross-disciplinary coverage, though at significantly larger scale.
• MDPI: MDPI is one of the world's largest open access scholarly publishers, with a portfolio of hundreds of peer-reviewed journals across disciplines. It is directly comparable to AOSIS as a multi-disciplinary OA journal and book publisher, though at much larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Frontiers Media: Frontiers is a leading open access scientific publisher operating journals across all major academic fields. It is a direct peer to AOSIS in open access journal publishing, with comparable cross-disciplinary scope and APC-based revenue model.

Regional players

• SciELO: SciELO is a regional open access journal and book platform originally built for Latin America but with African expansion through SciELO SA. It is comparable to AOSIS in OA scholarly publishing infrastructure, though its primary geography is Latin America.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/_AOSIS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aosis
• Facebookfacebook.com/aosis.za

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AOSIS