Google is backing Nigeria’s emerging digital news economy with a new regional programme targeting six independent news creators, as the technology company seeks to strengthen the sector’s capacity to convert growing online audiences into sustainable media businesses.
The six Nigerian creators including Onlinebanker, Adetunji Films, More Branches TV, Wearegst, Iswellthecapitalist and The Republic, are among about 20 digital news creators selected across Sub-Saharan Africa for the Google News Initiative’s (GNI) Emerging News Voices Growth Lab.
The multi-month programme, running through September 2026, will focus on artificial intelligence, audience development, video strategy and digital monetisation, areas increasingly critical to the commercial sustainability of creator-led journalism.
A major component of the Growth Lab is the use of artificial intelligence in daily newsroom operations.
Participants are receiving practical training on Google tools including Gemini, NotebookLM, Google Trends and SynthID, covering applications such as research, transcription, translation and verification.
Rather than treating AI simply as a content-generation tool, the programme is designed to help creators incorporate the technology into broader newsroom workflows while maintaining verification and editorial processes.
Marianne Erasmus, news partnerships lead, Middle East and Africa at Google, said independent news creators were increasingly influencing how Africans discover and understand news.
“The Growth Lab gives these creators what growing newsrooms need most: practical AI skills, a clear video and audience strategy, direct relationships with their readers and a path to sustainable revenue,” she said.
Beyond AI, the programme is also targeting one of the biggest structural challenges facing social-first publishers: dependence on third-party platforms for audience access.
Participants are being trained on YouTube growth strategies covering both short-form and long-form video, while also developing open-web and newsletter strategies designed to establish direct relationships with readers.
That development could have important commercial implications.
News creators that depend heavily on social platforms can reach large audiences but have limited control over distribution, audience data and monetisation. Building newsletters, websites and other direct channels can give publishers greater control over their audiences and create additional opportunities for advertising, subscriptions, partnerships and other forms of revenue.
The Growth Lab therefore combines editorial technology with audience and business strategy.
The programme also includes sessions on monetisation, product differentiation and audience-growth models, reflecting the increasing pressure on independent publishers to develop sustainable business models.
Wale Lawal, founder and editor-in-chief of The Republic, said the programme was helping the publication combine audience insights, product thinking and responsible AI use as it develops its business model.
Nasir Achile Ahmed, editor-in-chief and co-founder of MoreBranches, said the initiative had provided practical resources and access to tools while creating opportunities for participants to engage with experts and fellow journalists.
Nigeria emerges as key market for digital media support
The selection of six Nigerian creators underscores the country’s importance to the development of Africa’s digital news ecosystem.
The Growth Lab emerged from the Global News Gap Project, a mapping exercise involving Project Oasis and Code for Africa that examined the needs of independent African news creators.
Google said the research helped identify areas where emerging newsrooms require additional support, including technology, audience development and business sustainability.
The initiative also builds on Google’s longer-term engagement with Nigeria’s media industry.
Since 2018, the company said it has supported newsroom transformation projects through the GNI and helped publishers develop advertising revenue through programmes including the Ad Manager Academy.
Since 2024, Google said it has trained more than 1,500 Nigerian journalists and editors in areas including online safety, advanced Search, digital verification and audience analytics.
The company also supports media-skilling initiatives through its collaboration with the MTN Media Innovation Programme, where fellows receive training on AI productivity tools and newsroom technologies.
Digital creators become the next media investment frontier
The expansion of creator-led journalism is changing the economics of news distribution in Nigeria.
Traditional media organisations continue to operate established editorial structures, but independent creators can build highly targeted audiences with comparatively lean teams and lower distribution costs.
The GNI programme is consequently targeting technology, audience ownership and monetisation, considered the infrastructure behind the content, rather than simply supporting individual journalism projects.
As news consumption increasingly moves towards creator-led and video-first platforms, Google believes that the ability of independent publishers to combine journalistic credibility with technology and commercially viable business models could become increasingly important to the future structure of Nigeria’s media industry.
