Kenyan entertainment news site, Ghafla, is rebranding, and they’ve partnered with Ringier Africa Digital Publishing (RADP), Ringier Africa’s publishing subsidiary, to do so.
This partnership will see Ghafla expand to a larger East African market (appealing to readers in Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia), and also add their content to include news and current affairs to appeal to a wider audience.
Talking about the partnership, Ghafla founder, Samuel Majani, says, “I am very proud that Ghafla, which started in a Kenyan bedroom seven years ago, is now partnering with one of the largest African media enterprises. This partnership will give us access to international know-how and will ensure that we can learn from and apply the global expertise that the Ringier team brings with it.”
Ghafla stands to benefit from Ringier’s vast experience in media. The plan is to increase video and new media content, thereby strengthening Ghafla’s position as Kenya’s top entertainment news brand.
According to RADP Managing Director, Tim Kollmann, “Working with the Ghafla team, we will be setting new standards in the regional media space, offering up-to-date information at any time of the day, directly to East Africa’s media consumption tool of choice; the mobile phone.”
This development is not exactly news, seeing as there were rumours circulating some time in August, saying Ringier had acquired Ghafla. Samuel Majani denied this story, and the fact that he didn’t offer any new information did little to kill the curiosity (because there’s no smoke without fire). Anyway, the full story is out – it’s a partnership, not an acquisition.
