Union of OIC News Agencies

What Union of OIC News Agencies does

The Union of OIC News Agencies (UNA / يونا) is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1972, headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, operating as a specialized federation of the national news agencies of the 57 member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. UNA's primary function is to coordinate cross-border news exchange, facilitate cooperation among Muslim-world news agencies, and provide a coordinated media voice on issues relevant to OIC member states, including prominent coverage of Palestinian affairs through a dedicated Palestine office.

UNA's technology stack centers on a platform-plus-modules architecture built around its official website (una-oic.org) as the news aggregation and distribution hub. Around this core, it operates ten digital products: an AI chatbot (AI BOT), an AI writing editor, a fake-news verification tool, a Digital Media Observatory (مرصد الإعلام الرقمي), an International Training Institutes Network, a graduate training platform, a member-agency services platform, a direct publishing service, and a media-professionals membership program. The AI modules are deployed on third-party infrastructure (Vercel, tascado.com), indicating use of externally hosted AI services rather than proprietary models. Distribution extends across multilingual publishing (Arabic, English, French, Chinese, and others) and seven social platforms plus RSS.

UNA is not a commercial enterprise; it is funded through contributions and subscriptions from OIC member states and their national news agencies, with no public pricing or fee schedule. Go-to-market is institutionally driven through OIC General Secretariat coordination, member-agency channels, and partnerships with OIC subsidiary organs (ISESCO, ISFD, IsDB, IOFS, WDO), as well as bilateral engagements such as the May 2026 partnership with Xinhua News Agency and the June 2026 cooperation meeting with Azerbaijan's Media Development Agency. Director-General Muhammad bin Abd Rabbo Al-Yami leads a staff of 11-50.

Name

Union of OIC News Agencies

Legal name

Union of OIC News Agencies (اتحاد وكالات أنباء دول منظمة التعاون الإسلامي)

Website

https://una-oic.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Union of OIC News Agencies (UNA) is an intergovernmental federation, headquartered in Jeddah, coordinating news exchange, media literacy, and digital transformation across the national news agencies of the 57 OIC member states through AI tools, fact-checking platforms, and training networks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Intergovernmental News Agency Coordination

NAICS

Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

News Agencies & Wire Services (General & Specialized) (MPAJADAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

United Nations System & Specialized Agencies (BPADAAAA)

Keywords

• News agency federation
• Intergovernmental media
• Media cooperation
• News exchange platform
• Disinformation verification

Headquarters

HQ city

Jeddah

HQ country

Saudi Arabia

HQ region

Middle East

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Member State Contributions: The Union is funded through contributions and subscriptions from OIC member state governments and their national news agencies, making it an intergovernmental organization with no commercial revenue model.
2. Training and Program Services: The Union offers training programs through its International Training Institutes Network and platform services, which may generate revenue from member participation fees.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Union of OIC News Agencies (UNA) is an intergovernmental federation that aggregates, distributes, and coordinates news content among the national news agencies of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states. It operates digital platforms including a website portal, AI-based chatbot, fact-checking/disinformation verification tool, and AI writer/editor, alongside a training institutes network and member services platform for media professionals.

Product overview

Union of OIC News Agencies (UNA/يونا) operates a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on its official website portal (una-oic.org) as the core product for news aggregation and distribution. The portfolio includes 10 digital projects: the main website portal, an AI chatbot (AI BOT), a fake news verification tool, an AI writing editor, a digital media observatory, an international training institutes network, a graduate training platform, a member news agencies services platform, a direct publishing service, and a media professionals membership program. These modules collectively support UNA's mission of cooperation among news agencies in OIC member states, focusing on combating disinformation, media literacy, and responsible AI use in journalism.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• UNA Website Portal
• Fake News Verification Tool
• UNA AI Bot (Chatbot)
• AI Writer/Editor
• International Training Institutes Network
• Graduate Training Platform
• Member News Agencies Services Platform
• Direct Publishing Service
• Media Professionals Membership Program
• Digital Media Observatory

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Xinhua News AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 May 2026Xinhua News Agency and the Union jointly launched the Arabic edition of 'China's Governance Under Xi Jinping's Leadership' Volume I at the Global South Media and Think Tank Forum in Cairo on May 13, 2026. The event gathered approximately 250 representatives from around 110 media outlets, think tanks, and institutions from China and Arab countries.
• ISESCO (Organization of Islamic Cooperation for Education and Science)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Union coordinates with ISESCO on joint media and educational programs. ISESCO Director-General Dr. Salem bin Mohammed Al-Malik was re-elected unanimously for a second term.
• Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Union collaborates with ISFD on humanitarian and development media initiatives. The Executive Director of ISFD undertook official visits and partnership activities through the Union.
• Islamic Development Bank GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIslamic Development Bank Group institutions host forums and events covered and coordinated through the Union. The 14th Private Sector Forum was hosted in Azerbaijan in June 2026.
• Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) General SecretariatcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Union operates as a specialized body under the OIC, with regular coordination on media coverage of OIC activities, Secretary-General communications, and affiliated organ news.
• Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Union covers and coordinates media aspects of IOFS activities. IOFS Director-General visited the Union headquarters in Jeddah in February 2025.
• Organization for Women Development (WDO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Union covers WDO activities. Executive Director Sara Al-Shawri assumed her role on May 17, 2026, and met with the Egyptian Foreign Minister to promote women's empowerment initiatives.
• National News Agencies of OIC Member StatescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe Union's core constituency consists of national news agencies from all 57 OIC member states, which subscribe to the Union's news exchange and training services and distribute content through their own national networks.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Agence France-Presse (AFP): Major global wire service with multilingual news production. Comparable as a wire agency competing for syndicated content distribution across member-state media outlets that UNA also serves.
• TASS Russian News Agency: Russian state news agency operating globally with multilingual wire services. Comparable as a state-backed wire service whose content is distributed across OIC member-state outlets via bilateral and UNA partnerships.
• Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU): Regional broadcasting union coordinating public and private broadcasters across Asia-Pacific. Comparable to UNA as a regional intergovernmental media-coordination body covering OIC member states in Asia.
• Associated Press (AP): One of the largest global wire services with deep institutional member-network economics. Comparable as a coop-style news network model, though AP is commercial and UNA is intergovernmental.
• Xinhua News Agency: China's official state news agency and one of the world's largest wire services. Comparable as a state-backed news agency that UNA partners with, and operates at vastly larger scale with global syndication.
• Al Jazeera Media Network: Qatar-funded pan-Arab news network headquartered in the Gulf. Comparable as a major Arabic-language news brand serving the same OIC-region audiences and competing for syndication into member-state agencies.

Regional players

• Saudi Press Agency (SPA): Official state news agency of Saudi Arabia, host country of UNA's headquarters. Comparable as a leading national OIC member-state news agency that also distributes official and regional news across Arabic-language audiences.

Direct peers

• IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency): Iran's official state news agency. Comparable as a national OIC member-state news agency providing multilingual wire content and bilateral media coordination through UNA's network.
• Anadolu Agency: Turkish state news agency and a leading wire service across OIC and Turkic markets. Directly comparable as a national OIC member-state agency that competes with UNA-coordinated content in the same language and regional footprint.
• Pan-African News Agency (PANAPRESS): Intergovernmental news agency of the African Union linking national news agencies across African member states. Directly comparable to UNA as a multilateral body that coordinates and exchanges news content among sovereign member-state agencies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UNAOIC
• YouTubeyoutube.com/una-oic
• Facebookfacebook.com/unaoic
• Instagraminstagram.com/unaoic
• TikToktiktok.com/@unaoic?_t=8jegzHxwp18&_r=1
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/una-oic

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Union of OIC News Agencies