Writer / Reporter
(Slow news, analysis, and long-form)
Lagos 🇳🇬, Nairobi 🇰🇪, or London 🇬🇧
The role
We are seeking an experienced Writer/Reporter to join our team at Briter Bridges. The ideal candidate should have a strong background in long-form writing and analysis, particularly in the areas of business, investment, business models, and macroeconomic and political contexts, with a specific focus on Africa and emerging markets.
Long-form reporting and analysis:
Produce high-quality, in-depth long-form articles and analyses covering a range of topics related to business, investment, and economic developments in Africa and other emerging markets.
Conduct thorough research to provide insightful and well-reasoned perspectives on various subjects.
Embrace a "slow news" approach, allowing for thorough research, comprehensive analysis, and engaging storytelling.
Business cases and stories
Carry out interviews with entrepreneurs, investors, and businesses and write business cases and stories that can serve as empirical evidence for industry-focused articles.
Expertise in Africa and emerging markets:
Demonstrate a deep understanding of the economic, political, and social landscape of Africa and other emerging markets.
Stay updated on relevant industry trends, policy changes, and geopolitical events that may impact businesses and investments.
Business and investment analysis:
Analyse businesses, investment opportunities, and economic models to provide our audience with valuable insights and recommendations.
Identify key trends and developments that shape the investment landscape in the regions of focus.
Macroeconomic and political contexts:
Monitor and analyse macroeconomic indicators and political developments to contextualise and enrich reporting.
Provide informed commentary on how these factors influence business and investment environments.
Data analysis and utilisation of resources:
Utilise relevant data sources and analytical tools to support reporting and analysis.
Collaborate with data teams and leverage quantitative insights to enhance the depth of reporting.
We are looking for someone with:
Proven experience as a Writer / Reporter on Africa and emerging markets.
Expertise writing on agriculture, food, cleantech, climatetech, renewables, or related subjects. The role will be heavily focused on agtech, foodtech, climatetech, and auxiliary sectors.
Strong analytical and research skills, with the ability to synthesise complex information into clear and compelling narratives.
A degree related to journalism, data journalism, economics, literature, engineering, sociology, development studies, and work experience working in areas related to technology and private sector development across emerging markets, business, research, socio-economic development, impact evaluation, economics, and impact finance;
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to work independently and meet tight deadlines.
Strong track record and brands worked with.
Ease carrying out primary and secondary (quantitative and qualitative) data collection, including surveys, automation, and interviews;
Proficiency with software such as Google Suite, MS Office, pivot tables, data entry and database maintenance in Excel/Google Sheets.
Extreme attention to detail;
A self-starter willing to take initiative and ownership of tasks, and with a genuine interest in business, socio-economic development investment, startups, technology, and private sector development.
Plus
Specialised industry knowledge (e.g. fintech, agriculture, renewables commerce, technology, impact, etc.);
Visual tools such as Adobe products (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop); Figma;
Personal projects, newsletters, podcasts, Youtube channels, or blogs;
Knowledge of a second language spoken in key countries, such as Arabic, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili, Mandarin, Hindi, etc.;
Appearance in TV and public media outlets;
Knowledge of tools such as Typeform (surveys), Monday.com; Airtable; Figma; Squarespace; Hubspot.
Perks and fun
🦸🏻 A cute avatar and personalised mug :)
🏄🏻 Flexibility in hours, and the opportunity for hybrid work;
💻 A company Macbook Air;
📍 Co-working in the heart of Nairobi, Lagos, or London 🇳🇬;
✍🏽 Name added to any reports published you’ll work on;
🥂 A friendly and fun international team;
🛫 (Opportunities to travel and attend events globally;
🤓 Opportunity and support to build personal brand and network;
Location
The Data Journalist role can be based in Nairobi, Lagos, or London.
Note that applicants for this role must have a legal right to work and live in the country.
Deadline for applications
To apply, please send your CV, cover letter and portfolio / samples of previous work (e.g. reports, articles, visuals, websites) to jobs[at]briterbridges.com by March 30th, 2024.
About Briter
Briter is on a mission to build the go-to point of reference for emerging markets’ data and our team believes in the ability of better information to drive a proactive, business and opportunity-centred narrative. More and clearer data have the potential to boost business, creative, and investment activity, and Briter has been relentlessly working alongside several public and private stakeholders to create an accessible portal to knowledge about underserved markets.
In May 2020, Briter unveiled ‘Intelligence’, its unrivalled proprietary database and analytics platform which comprises data on private and public sector organisations including SMEs, listed companies, hubs, investors, and ecosystem supporters spanning across Africa and other emerging markets, such as South Asia and the Middle East. Since launching, Intelligence counts over a thousand users and represents a point of reference for several leading institutions globally. Briter are also publishing state of the art research based on the underlying data, and have built leading industry reports with organisations such as the World Bank, FCDO, and the World Food Programme.
Briter saw the light as a digital publication in late 2018 and quickly converted into a data-driven research firm focused on analysing business environments across underserved markets - i.e. those lacking the adequate supply of information able to showcase the number of opportunities they offer. Briter has released the largest collection of visualisations focused on technology ecosystems across Africa, South Asia and MENA and its research has grown to become a point of reference for major corporates, international organisations, governmental institutions, and investors.
Its work has now been featured in major media outlets such as CNN, Financial Times, TechCrunch, Forbes, African Business, Quartz, The Africa Report, and several major regional magazines. Briter’s ultimate goal consists of building a constructive narrative about business, creative, and investment opportunities across underserved economies by means of making more data available and digestible.