Communiqué 48: Stears’ pivot left a massive gap in Africa’s new media. Who can fill it?

Stears’ shift to focus on its enterprise business has left the market craving expert-led economic and political analysis.

Illustration by Meta AI

1. Pivots and twilight

In February 2023, Nigeria headed to the polls for the sixth time since the country’s return to democratic governance. But unlike the previous five elections, this one had an extra layer of complexity. For the first time in Nigerian history, there was a credible third contender, the usual two-legged race was now three-legged. As uncertainty mounted in the days leading up to the elections, Stears, a pan-African data company, released its predictions based on an opinion poll conducted on over 6,000 Nigerians.

A few weeks after the elections had come and gone, not only did Stears accurately predict the outcome of the polls, but its digital election tracker had been one of the primary reference points for thousands of voters. The platform saw a 5,000% increase in user visits than estimated. It was a win for Stears’ consumer-facing division, but it was also its last dance. 

Aside from the election tracker, this division also produced a COVID-19 live monitor during the pandemic, but its most popular product by far was Stears Premium, its subscription insights product containing a range of content, from news and analysis to opinion pieces and investigative deep dives on issues around the economy, tech, business, and government policy.

As Nigerians prepared for a new government, Stears was winding down its consumer-facing division and redirecting most of its editorial resources to its enterprise business.