Ghafla is set for a massive rebrand and relaunch today. Started seven years ago, in a bedroom from where it struggled to grow with no readership or clout. But Ghafla has now spread its influence across the region and beyond.
The entertainment and gossip website was the little dream of one ambitious university student named Samuel Majani who saw a vacuum in the provision of local celebrity news and music lyrics online. He then moved in to fill the void, creating Ghafla which today boasts a huge fan base.
“I am very proud that Ghafla, which started in a bedroom seven years ago, has now become part of one of the largest African media enterprises,” says Mr Majani, who will stay on as co-CEO under a partnership with Swiss media firm, Ringier Africa. “This partnership will give us access to an international audience and ensure that we learn and apply the global expertise that the Ringier team brings with it.”
The blog was founded by Samuel Majani and catapulted by 88MPh investors, who helped the site to grow from a lyrics portal to lucrative gossip. Ghafla went on to influence how news is told, even by the mainstream media who sought to also start their own gossip forums.
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Ringier somehow managed to get its hands on Ghafla after Majani rejected overtures from Radio Africa Group in 2014 which had offered Ksh5 million for a 90% stake. Radio Africa went ahead and started Mpasho, which has been competing with Ghafla in that gossip and entertainment space, boosted by heavy marketing on its popular radio stations. Radio Africa hit back again by poaching some Ghafla writers including Chimwani Obiajuli, who formed the core team that started Mpasho.
Less than a decade after Ghafla launched, it has found a new home in Ringier Digital Media which is repositioning it into a more balanced, broader and expansive news network to compete in the mainstream digital space. “Working with the Ghafla team, will set standards in the regional media space, offering up-to-date information directly to East Africa’s main media consumption tool of choice; the mobile phone,” says Tim Kollman, the MD of Ringier Africa.
The new Ghafla, whose brand icon has also changed to feature a ‘Ghafla’ logo with a small ‘g’, will move from disseminating just entertainment and celebrity news to covering broader topics that include politics, sports, science, technology and also lifestyle.
To cater for this broader market, the new Ghafla management has also hired journalists with experience. “I used to cover politics at my former employer. It is fun. I am a huge politics enthusiast and I know Kenyans are extremely keen on politics. I am glad I can cover that for Ghafla as well, ” says Dennis Tarus, one of Ghafla’s new writers.
Gossip and sex sell. So it will be interesting to watch how Ghafla fits into the mainstream digital news space.
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