Media24 adventures into East and West Africa

Media24, the newspaper, magazine, printing and distribution subsidiary of Naspers, publishes more than 30 magazines and over 60 newspapers in South Africa, many of them market leaders. The company has continued to expand its business at home by acquiring new titles and through launches. It now intends to increase its media reach by developing new markets.

Co-ordinating the new business strategy is Douw Steyn, general manager of Media24 Africa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media24 Ltd. In East Africa, Media24 Africa has formed a joint venture with the Nation Media Group (NMG), which is listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Founded by the Aga Khan, NMG is the largest independent media company in East Africa, with interests in newspapers, television and radio. Operating primarily in Kenya as well as in Uganda and Tanzania, its flagship paper, the Daily Nation, with a circulation of 165 000, is Kenya's biggest selling daily.

"There are great synergies between the two groups," says Steyn, who is excited about the potential of the new venture. "Media24 brings considerable magazine experience to the table and this, together with the professional expertise and distribution know-how of the Nation Media Group, will ensure we will become the leading magazine publisher in East Africa."

The new company, East Africa Magazines, Ltd (EAM), will be housed in the Nation Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, and plans to launch under license local versions of two of Media24 Magazines' high profile titles, Drum and True Love. The editorial team for Drum East Africa is in place and the first issue, with a September 2004 cover date will be on sale on 24 August. True Love East Africa is in the final stages of putting together its editorial team and plans to be on the stands in October. A Nairobi-based commercial manager, working with a brand manager and an advertising sales team for the two titles will head EAM.

"Drum East Africa, which will be monthly as will be True Love East Africa, is a totally new product, with a new look and with primarily local content," says Steyn. "Our strategy is to create strong magazine brands across the continent working off our existing brand recognition."

Both magazines will be written and edited in Nairobi and produced and printed in South Africa. Nation Marketing & Publishing Ltd, a division of NMG, will distribute them in East Africa.

The CEO, Nation Media Group, Wilfred D Kiboro, says, the "joint venture offers us a chance to expand our media offering while at the same time gives our partners a chance to get into the East African market".

The managing director of Media24, Salie de Swardt, agrees: "We are taking a long term view of our investment into East Africa," says De Swardt. "There is a demand for aspirational and lifestyle content and we believe that with sound business plans and the right partners in the Nation Media Group we can make it work."