African Centre for Women in Journalism

Name

African Centre for Women in Journalism

Legal name

African Centre for Women in Journalism

Website

https://africancwj.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Kampala

HQ country

Uganda

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Grant Making Program: ACWJ provides micro-grants and project funding to female journalists for reporting initiatives that center women's stories. Priority is given to under-represented voices and innovative formats. The organization plans to award at least 5 micro-grants by Q1 2026.
2. Training and Capacity Building: ACWJ delivers specialized training programs in investigative journalism, data journalism, multimedia storytelling, safety protocols, and gender-sensitive reporting. Programs include immersive workshops, fellowship programs, mentorship networks, and online courses delivered free to beneficiaries.
3. Media Advocacy: ACWJ engages in strategic campaigns, policy dialogue, coalition building, and advocacy for safer working conditions for female journalists and gender-sensitive reporting standards across African newsrooms.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

ACWJ is a non-profit organization that empowers female journalists across Africa through specialized training in investigative, data, and multimedia journalism; micro-grants and project funding for reporting initiatives that center women's stories; research grants and methodology training; media advocacy for safer working conditions and gender-sensitive reporting standards; and the Amplify Her Voice story submission portal connecting communities with the organization's continent-wide network of trained journalists. Programs are delivered free of charge to beneficiaries and supported by external grants and partnerships.

Product overview

ACWJ is a non-profit organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs for female journalists in Africa. The core offerings include: Training and Capacity Building (workshops, fellowships, online courses, mentorship), Grant Making Program (micro-grants for reporting), Media Advocacy (policy engagement, safety support), Research Program (grants and resources for investigative journalism), Amplify Her Voice (story submission portal), and the Ahaki Media Fellowship (SRHR-focused fellowship). These programs work together to empower female journalists with skills, funding, platforms, and advocacy support to report on women's issues across Africa.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Plan to award at least 5 micro-grants by Q1 2026
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Afya na Haki (Ahaki)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025ACWJ partners with Afya na Haki (Ahaki) on the Ahaki 2025 media fellowship, a transformative SRHR media fellowship bringing together journalists, advocates, comms experts, and policy influencers from across Africa. ACWJ's Executive Director Vivian Serwanjja facilitated at the fellowship, focusing on the role of female journalists in advancing SRHR in Africa. The partnership supports capacity-building programs that focus on SRHR reporting, gender-sensitive journalism, and storytelling techniques.
• YALI NetworkminorOthersYALI Network provides the Ethics and Law in Journalism Guide as a resource for ACWJ's programs, introducing core ethical principles for journalism—truth, minimizing harm, independence, and accountability for young and emerging African journalists.
• Rory Peck TrustminorOthersRory Peck Trust offers HEFAT Training Fund bursaries for freelance journalists and crisis funds for those at risk, shared as opportunities through ACWJ's resource portal for female journalists in high-risk environments.
• Pulitzer CenterminorOthersPulitzer Center offers Africa & Global Reporting Grants and Gender Equality Grants for underreported stories, referenced as funding opportunities for ACWJ's journalist network.
• International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF)minorOthersIWMF provides the Kari Howard Fund for Narrative Journalism providing grants up to US$5,000 for African women journalists, and research data (73% of women journalists experience online violence) used by ACWJ for advocacy.
• Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWOUGNET monitors platform moderation and online harassment patterns, working with ACWJ on issues of Technology Facilitated Gender Based Violence affecting women journalists.
• FEMNETminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFEMNET (The African Women's Development and Communication Network) provides resources on feminist climate justice reporting and SRHR framing in Africa, supporting ACWJ's training programs.

Scale indicators4 records

Direct peers

• Pulitzer Center: Provides reporting grants (including Africa & Global Reporting Grants and Gender Equality Grants) to underreported-story journalists and is an active resource partner of ACWJ. Directly comparable as a journalism grant-maker with training elements.
• Rory Peck Trust: UK-based trust providing HEFAT safety training bursaries and crisis funds for freelance journalists, referenced via ACWJ's resource portal. Directly comparable mission overlap on safety support and grant-making for journalists in high-risk environments.
• Afya na Haki (Ahaki): Pan-African health-and-rights organization running the Ahaki 2025 Media Fellowship in partnership with ACWJ, focused on SRHR journalism training across Africa. Operationally intertwined with ACWJ and directly comparable on SRHR-focused journalist convening.

Broad incumbents

• International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF): Global non-profit supporting women journalists through grants, safety training, and reporting opportunities, including the Kari Howard Fund for African women journalists that ACWJ directly references. IWMF is a broader incumbent with overlapping grant-making and capacity-building programs.
• Reporters Without Borders (RSF): Global press-freedom organization providing safety assistance, advocacy, and grants to journalists worldwide. Comparable advocacy and safety dimension, though broader scope without women-journalism specialization.
• Free Press Unlimited: International press-freedom organization funding independent journalism worldwide with support and training programs. Comparable grant-making and capacity-building model, though with global rather than African-women-focused specialization.
• Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ): International press-freedom advocacy organization running journalist safety programs, emergency response, and policy advocacy. Comparable advocacy and safety mission for journalists, but with global rather than women-focused scope.
• Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID): Global feminist organization supporting women's rights organizations through grants, convenings, and advocacy capacity. Comparable grant-making and advocacy model targeting women's-issues ecosystem, though broader than journalism specialization.

Emerging players

• Code for Africa: Pan-African civic technology and investigative-journalism organization running newsroom training, data journalism programs, and fellowships across the continent. Overlaps with ACWJ on Africa-wide journalism capacity-building and grant distribution.

Regional players

• Media Foundation for West Africa: West Africa-focused media development and press-freedom organization running journalist training, grants, and advocacy. Comparable capacity-building and grant-making model for journalists, with overlapping SRHR-adjacent programming but narrower regional footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/africancwj
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/africancwj
• Instagraminstagram.com/africancwj
• TikToktiktok.com/africancwj

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 African Centre for Women in Journalism