South African Journal of Science

What South African Journal of Science does

The South African Journal of Science (SAJS) is a multidisciplinary, bimonthly, peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1903 and published under the title ownership of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAF) since 2002. It publishes original research, review articles, and research letters on topics relevant to Africa or of African significance, alongside a non-research front section containing commentaries, book reviews, obituaries, and news. All content is released immediately under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence, with no submission fees and no article-processing charges — a Diamond Open Access model funded through ASSAF institutional support and government subsidies tied to DHET-accredited peer-reviewed outputs.

The journal is powered by the open-source Open Journal Systems (OJS, currently version 3.5.0.4) platform from the Public Knowledge Project, supported by the ASSAF-run Khulisa Journals Platform, with post-acceptance production handled through the XEditPro cloud-based service. Content is distributed globally and free of charge via saj s.co.za (in PDF, EPUB, and XML formats), RSS/Atom syndication feeds, DOIs registered through Crossref, and historical archives (1905–2008) hosted at journals.co.za. Selectivity is high — the 2024 rejection rate was 82% with an average total review time of 194 days — and the journal carries a Clarivate Journal Impact Factor of 2.3 (2024 release) and an Elsevier CiteScore of 3.3 (2024 release), with bimonthly issues now reaching Vol. 122.

Its go-to-market is sales-led in the sense of securing content rather than revenue: SAJS runs targeted calls for papers (often via special issues coordinated with institutional partners such as the NRF/DSI, SAMRC, HSRC, and the University of the Witwatersrand) and uses multi-channel outreach (Facebook, X, Bluesky, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, an email newsletter, and curated Editors'/Readers' Choice highlights) to attract submissions and readers. Customer segments are horizontal — African academic researchers, policymakers, educators, and the public — with no paid subscription, advertising, or APC revenue stream visible; operations are scaled to a small editorial office of 1–10 staff.

Name

South African Journal of Science

Legal name

South African Journal of Science

Website

https://sajs.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

1903

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The South African Journal of Science is a multidisciplinary, bimonthly, Diamond Open Access academic journal published by the Academy of Science of South Africa since 2003, serving African researchers, policymakers, educators, and the public with peer-reviewed scientific content since 1903.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic and Scholarly Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312), Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAJABAC

Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/Educational & Academic Publishing (Textbooks, Scholarly, STM)

SECONDARYEDAGAFAJ

Open Access Scholarly Journals & Monographs

Education/Educational Publishing & Learning Content/Academic & Scholarly Publishing (Journals, Monographs)

SECONDARYEDAGAFAL

Conference Proceedings & Research Reports Publishing

Education/Educational Publishing & Learning Content/Academic & Scholarly Publishing (Journals, Monographs)

Keywords

• Open access publishing
• Academic journal
• Scholarly publishing
• Multidisciplinary science
• Peer reviewed research

Headquarters

HQ city

Pretoria

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Diamond Open Access (no-fee publishing): The journal publishes all articles under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence with no submission fees and no article-processing charges (APCs). This is a diamond open access model where neither authors nor readers pay fees. The journal is funded by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAF) and likely receives institutional/subsidy support (e.g., Department of Higher Education and Training subsidy for peer-reviewed contributions). Revenue to support operations appears to come from institutional funding rather than direct reader or author payments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

The South African Journal of Science is a bimonthly, multidisciplinary, Diamond Open Access scientific journal that publishes peer-reviewed research articles, review articles, and research letters from Africa or on African-relevant topics, alongside front-section content such as commentaries, book reviews, and obituaries. It charges no submission fees and no article-processing charges, distributing all content under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence through its OJS-powered website.

Product overview

The South African Journal of Science is a single core product — an open access, multidisciplinary scientific journal — published bimonthly by the Academy of Science of South Africa. The journal publishes high-quality original research from Africa or on African-relevant issues across all disciplines, including Research Letters (up to 2000 words), Research Articles (up to 6000 words), and Review Articles (up to 6000 words), along with front-section content such as commentaries, book reviews, and obituaries. The journal operates on the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform, with article production handled through XEditPro cloud-based publishing services, and offers Diamond Open Access meaning no submission fees or article-processing charges. Readers can subscribe via web feed subscriptions (Atom, RSS2, RSS1).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• South African Journal of Science A bimonthly, multidisciplinary, Diamond Open Access scientific journal publishing peer-reviewed Research Articles, Review Articles, and Research Letters on African and Africa-relevant topics across all disciplines, along with front-section content such as commentaries, book reviews, and obituaries. Intended for academic researchers, policymakers, educators, and the science-interested public.
• Web Feed Subscriptions (Atom, RSS2, RSS1) Atom, RSS2, and RSS1 web feed subscriptions that allow readers and aggregators to automatically receive updates when new articles are published. Intended for researchers, librarians, and content aggregators who want programmatic access to new journal content.

Quantifiable outcome

• Journal Impact Factor 2.3 (Clarivate 2024, released 2025); CiteScore 3.3 (Elsevier 2024, released 2025)
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Guest editors Imraan Valodia and David Francis (Wits University) are co-convening a special issue on 'Employment and work in South Africa's just transition' with SAJS, coordinating abstract submissions and peer review processes. Katrina Lehmann-Grube also serves as a contact at Wits.
• National Research Foundation (NRF) / Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) Community of PracticemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025SAJS published a special issue featuring contributions from the NRF/DSI Community of Practice involving 11 Research Chairs working in sustainability sciences across natural and social science disciplines.
• South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025SAJS partnered with the South African Medical Research Council for the 'Discussion on the funding crisis' discussion series, inviting articles documenting consequences of US funding withdrawals on health research in South Africa.
• Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023SAJS published the 'Radical Reason' special issue in partnership with the HSRC, which convened contributions from global thinkers as part of the Science Forum South Africa 2020 'Conversations with Global Thinkers' series.
• Open Journal Systems (OJS)coreTechnology or IntegrationThe journal is powered by Open Journal Systems (OJS), an open-source software platform for managing and publishing peer-reviewed journals. OJS handles manuscript submission, peer review, editorial workflows, indexing, and online publishing.
• Khulisa Journals PlatformcoreTechnology or IntegrationThe journal is supported by the Khulisa Journals Platform, part of the Academy of Science of South Africa's Scholarly Publishing Programme, which provides infrastructure and operational support for online scientific writing and publishing.
• Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASSAF is the title owner and publisher of the South African Journal of Science (since 2002). ASSAF provides institutional governance, funding, editorial oversight, and publishing infrastructure. The Academy also supports the journal through its Scholarly Publishing Programme (Khulisa Journals Platform).

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Scientific African: Pan-African multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal published by Elsevier. Closely comparable as a competing African-focused multidisciplinary OA journal seeking the same author base and citation pool.
• African Journals Online (AJOL): Aggregator and discoverability platform for African-published scholarly journals. Directly comparable as a pan-African open-access scholarly publishing infrastructure with similar OA, no-fee ethos and South Africa/Africa focus.
• Journal of the Royal Society of South Africa: Multidisciplinary learned-society journal covering Southern African science. Closely comparable as a regional, society-published, peer-reviewed scholarly journal serving an overlapping research community.
• South African Medical Journal (SAMJ): Long-running South African peer-reviewed journal also hosted via OJS-style infrastructure. Comparable as a domestically anchored, ASSAF-adjacent scholarly publication serving the South African research community.

Broad incumbents

• BMC Research Notes: BioMed Central/Springer Nature OA journal. Comparable as a broad-scope OA venue with established workflows and pricing for short-format articles, an alternative outlet for some SAJS candidate submissions.
• Nature Africa: Springer Nature editorial platform spotlighting African research. Overlaps heavily in audience and editorial intent, capturing visibility for African-relevant work at a globally branded incumbent.
• PeerJ: Established OA scholarly publisher covering life and environmental sciences. Comparable as a multidisciplinary OA journal at much greater scale, competing for the same quality-sensitive author base.
• PLOS ONE: Large-scale multidisciplinary open-access journal with global reach. Comparable OA model and multidisciplinary scope; competing for the same multidisciplinary African-relevant submissions at greater scale.

Emerging players

• F1000Research: Open-research publishing platform with open peer review and rapid posting. Comparable as an alternative OA venue with faster review cycles competing for authors dissatisfied with traditional timelines.
• AAS Open Research: Open-access publishing platform by the African Academy of Sciences. Directly comparable as an Africa-anchored, funder-aligned OA venue competing for the same African research output and authors.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SAJS_Official
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCHIVn3FIdo5qaDAKV4ggQjg/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/southafricanjournalofscience
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/south-african-journal-of-science
• Instagraminstagram.com/southafricanjournalofscience

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 South African Journal of Science