African Women

What African Women does

African Women in Media (AWiM) is an international NGO founded in June 2016, originally as a Facebook group and now operating as a 10,000+ member movement dedicated to advancing gender equality in and through media across the African continent. Its audience is female media professionals, journalists, editors, researchers, and media entrepreneurs across African markets, with a stated ambition to reach all 55 African nations by 2028. The organization is led by CEO Dr. Yemisi Akinbobola (also an Associate Professor at Birmingham City University) and chaired by Prof Oluyinka Esan, with disclosed programmatic partners including the African Union, UNESCO, MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, Luminate, GIZ, the European Union, and Open Society Foundations.

AWiM's product surface spans a training platform (AWiM Learning), a news website (AWiM News), a women-owned business directory (SourceHer), and a podcast (Her Media Diary). The organization convenes an annual conference — running continuously from AWiM17 through the scheduled AWiM26 in December 2026 — and has produced two continental policy instruments: the Kigali Declaration (2023) and the forthcoming Windhoek Framework (2026). Additional programmatic lines include the AWiMediapreneur Programme, an Innovation & Investments Lab, and editorial fellowships. AI features across the portfolio include training programs on AI for journalists and applied use of AI tools for tone and framing analysis of gender-based violence coverage.

AWiM's business model is that of a project-based non-profit. Revenue is dominated by institutional grants from the named funder roster above, supplemented by membership fees, conference and event revenue, editorial fellowships, and donations. No audited financial figures, headcount, or grant-line amounts have been publicly disclosed, and the organization does not operate as a commercial entity.

Name

African Women

Legal name

African Women in Media

Website

https://africanwomeninmedia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Short description

African Women in Media (AWiM) is an international NGO founded in June 2016 that advances gender equality in and through African media, serving over 10,000 female journalists, editors, and media entrepreneurs via training, news, conferences, and policy frameworks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Media Professional Development and Advocacy Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Broadcasting and Content Providers (516), Other Sound Recording Industries (512290)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (BPAGABAF), Gender Equality & Women’s Rights (BPADAGAF), Community, Ethnic & Multilingual News Publishers (MPAJADAG), Public Lectures & Speaker Series (MPAGACAI)

Keywords

• Media professional development
• Gender equality advocacy
• Journalism training programs
• Capacity building NGO
• Media research publishing

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Project-Based Grants and Funding: AWiM operates primarily through project-by-project funding from institutional donors and foundations including the African Union, UNESCO, MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Luminate. This represents the dominant revenue model for the organization's operations and programs.
2. Membership Fees: Organization offers membership tiers including standard and student accounts with discounts. Members gain access to the AWiMovement network, professional development opportunities, and the AWiM community.
3. Conference and Event Revenue: Annual conferences (AWiM26, AWiM25, etc.) generate revenue through delegate fees, sponsorship, and associated events. Early bird and standard registration pricing models apply.
4. Editorial Fellowships and Commissions: Paid fellowship opportunities such as the Editorial Fellowship on Gendered Migration Reporting offering €950 commissioning fee per published project, along with mentorship and editorial guidance.
5. Donations: Organization accepts donations through Flutterwave platform to support programs creating empowering environments for African media women and safeguarding human rights globally.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

African Women in Media (AWiM) is an international NGO that advances gender equality in and through African media by convening practitioners through its annual Global Forum conferences, delivering capacity-building via the AWiM Learning training hub and editorial fellowships, publishing original research and news through AWiM News, operating the SourceHer expert and business network, and advocating for systemic change through frameworks such as the Kigali Declaration. The organization's paid membership, training, conference, fellowship, and award programs serve African women working across journalism, film, television, radio, publishing, music, advertising, sports media, gaming, and cultural production.

Product overview

African Women in Media (AWiM) is an international non-governmental organization that offers a multi-platform portfolio focused on advancing gender equality in and through media across Africa. The core offerings include: AWiM Learning (an on-demand training hub with expert-led courses for media professionals), AWiM News (a niche news website on women and media in Africa), SourceHer (a global platform connecting women-owned businesses with opportunities and featuring a database of African women experts), and Her Media Diary (a podcast on African women's lived experiences). Additional programs include the annual AWiM Conference (Africa's largest media and gender event), the Kigali Declaration (a framework to combat gender violence in media), the Windhoek Framework for Inclusive Media Economies, the Innovation & Investments Lab, and the AWiMediapreneur Programme. Together, these platforms provide training, research, advocacy, networking, and economic empowerment opportunities for African women in media.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AWiM Learning: On-demand media training hub with expert-led courses for African women media professionals to learn, connect, and advance in their careers.
• AWiM News
• SourceHer
• Her Media Diary
• AWiM Global Forum

Products and services

• AWiM Learning On-demand training hub with expert-led courses designed to help African women media professionals learn, connect, and advance in their careers across journalism and adjacent media fields.
• AWiM News Niche news website focusing on women and media in Africa, providing articles, interviews, news coverage, and writing opportunities relevant to African women in media.
• SourceHer Global platform and community dedicated to advancing women in business by connecting women-owned businesses and organizations with opportunities, resources, and networks, including a database of African women experts across various industries.
• Her Media Diary Podcast focused on lived experiences and issues affecting African women, hosted by Dr Yemisi Akinbobola with guests from across Africa and the Diaspora.
• AWiM Conference (Global Forum) Africa's largest annual event dedicated to media and gender, convening stakeholders across journalism, film, television, radio, publishing, music, advertising, sports media, gaming, and cultural production for meaningful action on gender equality in and through media.
• Kigali Declaration Continental framework and digital platform launched in 2023 to confront and prevent gender-based violence in and through media, including resources, training materials, communities of practice, and adoption monitoring tools for newsrooms across Africa.
• Innovation & Investments Lab Program supporting innovation and investments for African women in media, focused on economic empowerment and financial inclusion for women-led media ventures.
• Editorial Fellowship on Gendered Migration Reporting Paid editorial fellowship for women journalists covering migration and free movement with a gender lens, offering a €950 commissioning fee per published project along with editorial guidance, mentorship, data workshop access, and cross-border collaboration opportunities.
• Pitch Zone Awards Competition-based funding program where selected women journalists pitch story ideas and defend them live in front of a judging panel, receiving $2,000 awards to produce the stories they pitched.
• AI, Newsrooms and African Women Journalists Training Program Capacity-building training program addressing the gendered impact of artificial intelligence within African newsrooms, comprising three courses on gender-responsive AI policy, cultural localisation of AI tools, and AI literacy for women in media.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10,000+ members globally with target of 55 African nations reached by 2028
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• African UnioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAWiM and the African Union have worked together since 2019 on joint projects including Photojournalism Awards, Labour Migration Awards, AWiM19 and AWiM20 conferences. The partnership supports the empowerment of women in media across Africa through program collaboration.
• UNESCOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNESCO supports AWiM through the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), funding research on COVID-19 impact on East African women journalists and other capacity-building initiatives.
• UN WomencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUN Women partners with AWiM on initiatives advancing gender equality in and through media across Africa.
• International Organisation for Migration (IOM)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIOM partnered with AWiM on the Labour Migration Project and Awards as part of the JLMP (Joint Labour Migration Programme) initiative, establishing a network of media professionals covering labour migration in Africa.
• Fojo Media InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFojo Media Institute collaborated with AWiM on the Gender Journalism Stylebook development and is a partner in the Kigali Declaration. Fojo is associated with Linnaeus University in Sweden.
• International Labour Organization (ILO)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerILO partnered with AWiM on the Labour Migration Project as part of the JLMP initiative, supporting research and training on labour migration reporting.
• Birmingham City UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Yemisi Akinbobola serves as Associate Professor of Women's Rights and Media Development at Birmingham City University. The university provides academic backing and research collaboration for AWiM initiatives.
• BarazalabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBarazalab provides exclusive data workshops for AWiM's Editorial Fellowship on Gendered Migration Reporting, supporting journalists in data-driven storytelling.
• First Bank of NigeriaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst Bank of Nigeria partners with AWiM to support women in media and advance financial inclusion initiatives.
• IPDACminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIPDAC (International Peace and Development Advisory Centre) is a partner in the Kigali Declaration supporting AWiM's policy advocacy work.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• African Women in Leadership Organisation (AWLO): Pan-African NGO advancing women in leadership across industries. Themes overlap with AWiM's SourceHer and AWiMediapreneur work, though AWLO is broader than media-specific.
• Association for Progressive Communications (APC): International network and NGO focused on using ICTs for social justice and gender equality, with strong African membership. Comparable in feminist tech/ICT advocacy but broader mandate than AWiM's media-industry focus.
• Code for Africa: Africa's largest civic technology and data journalism initiative, with gender and inclusion programs intersecting AWiM's AI-and-gender work. Useful as a regional peer on AI/civic tech training for African journalists.

Direct peers

• Inter Press Service (IPS) News Agency: Global news agency focused on development, gender, and human rights reporting with significant African coverage. Comparable publishing model and editorial mission to AWiM News.
• International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF): Global NGO that supports women journalists through training, grants, safety, and advocacy. Most direct comparable to AWiM's mission of advancing women in media, though IWMF is global while AWiM is Africa-focused.
• WAN-IFRA Women in News: World Association of News Publishers' Women in News programme works with women media professionals in emerging markets, including Africa, on leadership and digital savvy. Closest policy/training peer in the African newsroom inclusion space.
• Fojo Media Institute: Sweden-based media development institute (Linnaeus University) focused on independent journalism and gender-inclusive newsrooms. Already a partner to AWiM via the Kigali Declaration and Gender Journalism Stylebook, with comparable training and policy products.

Broad incumbents

• UN Women (Africa): UN entity leading global gender equality work with a substantive Africa portfolio and media programmes. AWiM partners with UN Women; comparable in mission scope but operates at multilateral scale and is a funder/convener rather than a competitor.

Regional players

• Media Foundation for West Africa: Regional NGO promoting press freedom and media development across West Africa. Comparable in advocacy and training mission, with a narrower West African geographic scope than AWiM's pan-African mandate.
• Gender Links (GL): Southern African NGO advancing gender equality in media and governance, including the SADC Gender Protocol and gender-based violence reporting training. Closer geographic peer to AWiM with overlapping media-and-gender advocacy mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RealAWiM
• Facebookfacebook.com/africanwomeninmedia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/african-women-in-media
• Instagraminstagram.com/africanwomeninmedia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about African Women