At the recent INMA Africa Media Revenue Summit, media leaders from across the continent shared practical, grounded revenue strategies that speak to one clear truth: In a rapidly changing media landscape, survival demands reinvention.

While the challenges are global, the summit’s conversations — reflected through case studies from South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Malawi — revealed how news publishers are rethinking business models, rewriting organisational priorities, and building revenue systems based on audience needs, diversified income streams, and technological integration.

For news media executives worldwide, the summit offered insights that extend far beyond regional borders. Whether confronting advertising volatility in the United States, subscription fatigue in Europe, or digital disruption in Asia, the strategic focal points described here are universal.

Below are the key lessons media leaders shared — in their own words — and why they matter for organisations everywhere.

AI, brand strength, and diversification are reshaping media strategy

INMA’s CEO Earl J. Wilkinson opened the summit with a compelling diagnosis of the current global environment: publishers must confront deep structural change with bold strategic thinking.

“What is happening in Germany is not happening in the United States. What’s happening in the United States is not happening in Kenya,” Wilkinson said, emphasising global perspective matters but local context still drives action.

His message framed the summit’s core themes — AI integration, diversified income, and brand strength — as pillars for the next decade of media sustainability.

“AI today … is turning publishers from content businesses into customer platforms with profitability driven more by lifetime value, not pageviews,” he said. “This is roughly the equivalent of changing our religion.”

Publishers are rebuilding revenue models around events, education, and marketplaces

For large media organisations, traditional advertising no longer moves the revenue needle on its own. At Kenya’s Nation Media Group, the commercial strategy has been fundamentally rewired.

“As media houses, we’ve got to change our lens … start seeing the media space that we are in,” said James Sogoti, general manager/commercial at Nation Media Group.

Nation Media now operates eight revenue streams, and Sogoti shared details on three:

• Media as an event organiser: “A lot of journalism is thriving in that space … we are able to harness content” and create revenue through high-engagement events.

• Media as an educator: partnering with communities to facilitate thematic discussions.

• Media as a marketplace: collaborating with e-commerce players to connect audiences with commercial partners.

Reflecting on organisational transformation, Sogoti said the group has reorganised into 12 sectors to better align content and advertising with market demand: “This has given us an edge to face the market differently, and gives us the opportunity of creating and enhancing real value.”

For publishers worldwide, this multi-stream model illustrates how news brands can expand revenue beyond traditional advertising and subscription models by building ecosystems that reflect audience and advertiser needs.

Trust is emerging as a measurable driver of reader revenue

In some markets, audiences are willing to consume trusted news but not yet willing to pay. Basil Fortuin, head of digital strategy at South Africa’s Media24, framed this as the “reader trust paradox.”

“If we look at the news media today … we know that revenue is down, we know that most of the revenue across the continent is going to the big social platforms,” Fortuin said, pointing out the competitive pressure social media places on news brands.

Multiple revenue streams are essential, Fortuin said: “Having multiple revenue streams as a news business is no longer an option … it is absolutely you must.”

He also made the case for building reader revenue — including subscriptions, memberships, and donations — because “you need to get people to start paying for your news because they trust you.”

This insight has global resonance. In markets where audiences trust news but hesitate to pay — from Latin America to parts of Europe — brands that double down on trust can still unlock monetisation through hybrid models that blend reader revenue with diversified commercial streams.

Audience engagement and data strategies are redefining advertising growth

Abigail Wilmot, general manager of digital sales, services, and operations at Volt Africa, highlighted the power of audience reach and engagement for digital advertising revenue.

Volt Africa works with eight premium publishers, integrating audience data and platform reach into bespoke advertising solutions. Wilmot shared compelling metrics: 25 million page views across content categories, 7 million daily active users, and 8.4 million followers across Meta, X, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Reflecting on TikTok specifically, Wilmot said: “Audiences love it … they engage with it, they click, they view. They love video. The growth is actually phenomenal.”

A shift from traditional media (print and television) to digital to correlate to advertisers’ needs has helped Volt achieve higher, measurable ROI and targeted reach. 

Local and smaller media players are innovating beyond traditional models

Not all revenue transformation requires large scale. Temwa Mhango, director of Radio Tigabane in Malawi, showcased how a community broadcaster built a structured revenue ecosystem from local trust and diversified services.

“We need to look into issues of how we can survive … first, we need to see the platforms that we use,” Mhango said, highlighting FM broadcast expansion alongside Facebook and online services.

Revenue sources at Radio Tigabane extend beyond airtime: live streaming, online articles, and public address services. Mhango explained that each service is offered with clear pricing: “We have the sponsors programme … live or recorded. We charge per hour.”

Perhaps most striking was Radio Tigabane’s non-media revenue strategy: a student hostel project that provides predictable monthly income and underwrites core operations. As Mhango put it: “Through this, people have built trust in us, and they are able to give us the business.”

For local media everywhere — from regional radio to community news sites — this model highlights how embedded community services and diversified income can translate social capital into financial sustainability.

Digital transformation is demanding organisational and cultural change

Across the summit, speakers underscored that technology adoption without organisational alignment falls short.

For instance, in Nigeria, Channels Television’s head of digital, Simon Ejembi, spoke about aligning legacy broadcast strengths with digital behaviours because the audience is increasingly moving to social platforms. 

Ejembi stressed that digital transformation demands operational changes, including training TV journalists for online content and integrating data into decision-making: “You have to have the people based on who you now have the opportunity to monetise and to deliver product.”

This mirrors a global pattern: Successful transformation requires skills, culture, and incentive changes alongside technology investment — a lesson applicable from Nordic newsrooms to South Asian media conglomerates.

What this means for news companies worldwide

Although the summit centred on African market realities, the strategic signals cut across global industry concerns:

• AI and technology are not optional — they are infrastructure: News publishers must map technology to revenue levers, not just newsroom workflows. Wilkinson’s framing that AI must be part of financial sustainability rings true worldwide.
• Diversification is now foundational: Across companies — from Media24 to Nation Media Group to Radio Tigabane — diversified revenue streams reduce risk and create resilience against platform dependency and market volatility.
• Audience and data strategies anchor commercial success: Understanding where audiences engage, and packaging insight for advertisers, positions media companies to capture value that platform middlemen often absorb.
• Trust matters commercially: Where trust is strong, brands retain leverage even when consumer payment instincts are cautious. Media24’s emphasis on trust as a revenue driver should resonate globally.
• Transformation is organisational: Channels Television’s and other leaders’ emphasis on people, training, and cultural alignment underscores that sustainable change starts with internal readiness.

What emerged from the Africa Media Revenue Summit was not a uniform blueprint but a shared strategic orientation: media businesses must evolve beyond legacy assumptions, embrace diversified revenue models, and align around audience needs with purposeful organisational design.

From business expansion in Kenya to community integration in Malawi, from advertiser partnerships to digital transformation, the summit offered ideas grounded in real operational success — ideas that media leaders in every market can adapt and adopt.

If this global era demands anything, it is not only resilience but intentional adaptability — and African media leaders are showing the way.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .