How to get your African startup covered in TechCabal, Disrupt Africa, The Big Deal, and other key tech media — from crafting your pitch to writing a press release that editors actually read.
Understand what makes a story. African tech journalists are not press release distributors. They cover one of four things: a funding round, a product launch that solves a clearly interesting problem, a data story (you have unique numbers), or a milestone (first to do X in Africa). Before pitching, ask: which of these four is my story?
Build your media list. The essential African tech outlets: TechCabal (Nigeria-focused, pan-African), Disrupt Africa (pan-African, investment angle), Techpoint Africa (Nigeria), The Big Deal (funding data), Ventureburn (South Africa), TechTrends Kenya, Wamda (North Africa). Know which writer covers your sector at each outlet.
Craft a one-paragraph pitch email. Subject line: '[Funding/Launch/Milestone]: [Company] does [specific thing] in [specific market]'. Body: what you do in one sentence, what’s new, why it matters to their readers, key metric (ARR, users, transaction volume), and a quote from the founder. Total length: under 200 words.
Exclusive vs. embargo. For a funding round, offering one outlet an exclusive (TechCabal for Nigeria, Disrupt Africa for pan-African) typically guarantees coverage. An embargo means you share details in advance with multiple outlets under the agreement they all publish simultaneously at an agreed time and date.
Write your own press release as a fallback. One page, inverted pyramid structure: the most important information first. Include: what happened, why it matters, key numbers, founder quote, brief company background, and contact details.
Time your announcement carefully. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings at 9am WAT or EAT generate the most press attention. Avoid Mondays (news backlog) and Fridays (low readership).
Prepare your media kit. Have ready: high-resolution founder headshots, company logo (PNG, white background), 2-3 product screenshots, and a one-paragraph company bio. Journalists should be able to write a story without going back to you for assets.
Follow up once. If you don’t hear back within 3 business days, send a single brief follow-up. If still no response, the story is not a fit right now. Don’t badger journalists.
Amplify after publication. Share across LinkedIn, Twitter, your investor update, and your email list. Tag the journalist and publication. Your own amplification often drives more traffic than the article itself.
Build journalist relationships over time. Follow the writers who cover your beat on Twitter. Engage with their work. Become a source they can quote for sector commentary even when you don’t have news to announce.
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