With the release of its first pan-African digital news platform analysis, ##RANKED2025, SquirrelPR, a top online media relations management solution, has provided previously unheard-of insights into the consumption patterns and new trends in five of Africa’s biggest markets: Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, and Ghana.
Building on the popularity of its quarterly reports since 2023, which at first concentrated on Nigeria, this enlarged annual review offers a vital standard for evaluating the impact of news in the quickly changing digital landscape.
Based on a year’s worth of historical data from Similarweb, the extensive study was just given digitally to the African media. It assesses important parameters including audience engagement, web traffic, and social media influence.
James Ezechukwu, SquirrelPR’s Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, highlighted the organization’s dedication to data credibility by doing a thorough analysis of every nation it covers. Additionally, Jonah Solomon, Co-founder of SquirrelPR, emphasised the study’s growth and its importance for companies, public relations professionals, and anyone looking to make educated decisions in the media sector.
According to Solomon, the research may encourage increased audience engagement through engaging content.
Looking at a Comparative Analysis, fascinating regional differences and shared patterns among the five featured countries are shown by the #RANKED2025 report accessed by BrandSpur digital news platform. In 2024, the 148 digital news platforms that were tracked combined received an incredible 4.1 billion web views.
With only 25 platforms monitored, Egypt is a digital powerhouse in terms of traffic, with the largest total number of web visits (1.7 billion). With an impressive 450 million visits, Youm7 stands out as Africa’s most popular news platform, demonstrating that a platform’s reach isn’t exclusively determined by its nation’s population. This dominance may be supported by the country’s high rates of internet penetration and literacy as well as a wide appeal outside of Egypt.
Nigeria, with the most tracked platforms (130) and 1 billion visits, performs well in entertainment and pop culture, with Vanguard Online leading in overall visits at 150 million.
Kenya generated 429.3 million visits across 36 platforms, with Daily Nation as the top news platform (180 million+ visits).
South Africa, with 51 platforms and 1.2 billion visits, exhibits the most mature digital readership across categories, leading in business and technology news. News24 is the most visited news platform in the country.
GhanaWeb is Ghana’s top news source, with over 130 million visitors over 29 platforms and 286 million visits.
Continuing, with News & Current Affairs platforms controlling the majority of digital traffic, this is a noteworthy trend in all markets. With multiple platforms receiving over 100 million visits annually, Egypt, South Africa, and Nigeria are the top three countries in this category. But as readers look for more specialised content, the report also emphasises the growing significance of niche media platforms in technology, business, and lifestyle.
These platforms are expanding quickly. Compared to news and entertainment, these categories may see lower overall traffic, but niche platforms frequently have higher engagement rates.
Furthering, business and tech reporting are areas where South Africa excels, Nigeria has room to expand, and Egypt presently has little specialised reporting.
Digital media, with an emphasis on business, technology, and entertainment, has a lot of room to grow in Ghana and Kenya. The study also emphasises how important social media is as a major source of traffic, noting that platforms with high levels of social media engagement typically rank better in terms of overall digital influence.
A tiered ranking system based on annual website visits is used by #RANKED2025 to better understand platform influence. Tier 1 comprises outlets with over 100 million visits, including well-known news platforms like Youm7 (Egypt), News24 (South Africa), Daily Nation (Kenya), GhanaWeb (Ghana), and Vanguard Online (Nigeria).
In addition to overall news, the report identifies leaders in particular categories:
• Business News: Tier 1 leaders include BusinessTech (South Africa) and Nairametrics (Nigeria).
Technology News: MyBroadband (South Africa) and Techpoint Africa (Nigeria) are among the Tier 1 tech news platforms.
• Entertainment & Lifestyle: Linda Ikeji Blog (Nigeria), Cape Town ETC (South Africa), and Pulse Kenya are highlighted as Tier 1 performers.
Strategic Implications for PR and Media Professionals
For companies, media agencies, and public relations specialists navigating Africa’s ever-changing media landscape, the #RANKED2025 report is an essential strategic guide.
However, the Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB) President, Rasheed Bolarinwa praised the report as “insightful and a game changer,” acknowledging that its credibility might transform the sector.
Professionals can use the insights to:
• Determine which media platforms are most influential for targeted campaigns;
• Match content strategies to audience behaviour that has been shown;
• Improve negotiations with media partners by utilising quantifiable influence levels;
• Use digital PR and SEO strategies to maintain brand visibility; and
• Strengthen crisis response frameworks by comprehending media reach.
In Africa, the digital media landscape is changing quickly. The #RANKED2025 report emphasises how crucial it is for media professionals to adjust to changing audience habits, such as the growing use of social media and video formats for content consumption. Investing in niche journalism, utilising digital engagement tactics, and creating creative income structures will be essential for success in this cutthroat market.
