Our mission and who we are
We set up Techpoint Africa not primarily to be the best in the industry but to give everyone a platform to read reports the way they ought to be written. In pursuit of this noble goal, we have organised a workforce that stops at nothing to give the “Why” behind the “Why” in any story.
Our newsroom is not so huge, not as huge as you imagine, but the mix of the young, the exposed, and experienced writers with their sight set constantly on integrity have made the team what any credible manager would desire.
Techpoint Africa was born to serve as a platform for every startup, for every techie with a story to tell, and for the tech industry to have a place to converse and bond as young minds continue to make the universe more efficient and seamless. It has grown beyond that in the ecosystem as our reach to every part of Africa and, of course, worldwide has added up to making us a platform without boundaries.
In the beginning…
From Day One, we chose to serve the industry and society in general, and we have been able to deliver on this. The global trust and response ignited the desire to serve even more in this ever-changing world, which has given birth to the bigger Businessfront platform.
Our brand of journalism has impacted society so much in such a short time. Yes, a ten-year old is still a child but could have the mindset of an adult. We love the reference made daily to our reports. Our Newsletters, especially the so cherished Techpoint Digest, remain the most impactful in this era. We are geared to do more. We want the business world to continue to depend on our reports to know the next best move, just as we ultimately become the number one platform for news breaks, in-depth analysis, insights, and storytelling in Africa’s energy and financial worlds. Our journalists have won awards, and as a company, we want to do more by winning your hearts permanently and on the global stage.
We depended on you at the start, and you in turn depended on us for direction and guidance, and hopefully, we will continue to move side-by-side in this fresh and bigger challenge.
A mission so simple
Businessfront (Techpoint Africa, Energy in Africa, and Finance in Africa) is programmed to serve society best. From the onset with Techpoint Africa, we put on the table the type of journalism that regularly brought us positive feedback. Our determination to see truth triumph over agenda and sensational reporting meant we had to work with every sense of integrity.
We report on notable developments, especially startups, business growth, challenges, and trends in Africa’s energy and financial worlds. We started Techpoint Africa to cover the needs of the big players and professionals in the industry, but we have since evolved to offering platforms for the general public. There is something for everyone. We do not only report the news; Intelpoint, our data and research arm, gives deep insights that significantly give a clear review of the past and a dependable outlook to the rest of the year and beyond.
There is something that has helped us to attain and maintain that level. It is called diversity. Businessfront’s newsroom has journalists with different views of the economic policies of Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, the outlook in Morocco and Senegal, and which administration has used the best policies in Egypt. When you have three persons at a coffee table in the newsroom with entirely different views of the world, you are mostly likely to have balanced reports and insights. This is the way we roll here.
You can put your bet on the table that our policy would not tolerate hate speech of any form, disinformation, or racism in anything we write or in events we produce or manage.
Code of conduct and more
We have always known there are ethics of journalism and codes of conduct, but we wanted more. We did not stick only to the rules that have always guided the process; we understood that implementation and enforcement were always the challenges. This we have been able to do.
Businessfront also understands that it is always good to make the rules and regulations unambiguous right from the beginning. For this reason, every reporter gets a written document before they sign on as employees.
In setting out, we also did elaborate research with some organisations, even outside the media industry, to produce a workable document. This document has been worthwhile, and we have agreed that it is a good guide.
What we said
In January 2015, we made a public statement on our mission. The statement was specific about Techpoint Africa being very committed to giving readers accurate, fair, and unbiased reports. We also pledged to serve the public the type of stories they would not find elsewhere. Since we put out the statement, we have kept to our promise.
Techpoint Africa gave African startups a platform to showcase their innovations. Our professional coverage of these startups went far above expectations; reaching behind the scenes to tell the stories behind everything they put together. In some instances, we were able to guide the public in the direction some of these wonderful works would go.
We have not relented, but rather, we have expanded our coverage and reach. Businessfront is serving the most comprehensive business stories. The three platforms touch on all segments of the business world. We provide expanded platforms that serve readers, advertisers, swamped executives, and even the roadside retailers. We can do this because our research has shown us the needs of these different groups.
Government, public, or media events
At Businessfront, public and media appearances are important to us as we run quite a number of events every month. Even though we do this regularly as we do our best to educate our readers and viewers, the role of our journalists in such public settings is scrutinised.
We are very conscious and mindful of the current generation of young Africans and the political situation in some countries, and this guides our neutral position. Our involvement is largely in sharing expert views rather than personal opinions or politically tainted statements.
We are in business and advertisement. For this reason, we do our utmost to give every partner or potential partner a level playing field. We do not write stories to promote but rather offer them the platform for marketing and for this, Businessfront reporters are not encouraged to feature as speakers or moderators at events designed to promote a particular business or government policy, or any product stable or panels controlled by companies that we do business with.
Our goal is to have a transparent and fruitful relationship with every entity without knowingly giving any an advantage over others.
Fair to all
Our brand of journalism is that of independence. Advertisers and government officials could pose the biggest challenge in this regard, but we laid our foundation to stay above this situation. Rather than being influenced by them, our publications influence their thoughts. At Businessfront our editorial integrity is paramount and we continually remind our journalists of this at every opportunity. We understand that fairness, integrity, equity, and a lack of conflicts of interest build good businesses and invariably the nation and society in general. Our business idea is built on this model.
At Businessfront we consider our readers and partners first in every step of the journey because we know that our success is based on your patronage. We are thankful for your trust thus far, and we ask once again that you continue to ride with us and be sure that we will fulfill our part of the deal.
Thank you!