At the beginning of 2016, 19-year-old Faith Moyosore Agboola was a budding writer and poet in dire need of guidance. Her struggle to find her feet as a writer was complicated by the fact that little or no attention is paid to writers in Nigeria, especially when compared to other professions and she knew she was not alone.
In order to solve her predicament, she began extensive research and turned to Instagram to hunt for writers who were in her shoes. To her amazement, she found not just a few. On the 24th of April 2016, she began The African Writers, although unofficially. and two years later, in 2018, the platform would become one of the SMEs to come out successful in Connect Nigeria’s Top 100 SMEs Campaign.
The African Writers
The African Writers is essentially a social media network for young African writers to showcase their talents, hone their skill, and connect with other young writers. As a fast-growing community of writers which is currently the largest in its circle of influence, The African Writers is committed to: offering monthly online and offline writing class; organising yearly events such as the African Writers Meet which is a gathering of over 500 writers; organising Competitions and challenges in partnership with brands; serving as a media partner for literary events and agencies; and providing all-round promotional services for authors and literary brands.
The African Writers targets young and budding writers who are in need of a support system to aid them in improving their writing and getting hold of quality services to enable them thrive in their careers. The platform also appeals to an older more experienced audience of writers and enthusiastic lovers of literature as well as art.
In just two years of its inception, The African Writers has organised several writing competitions and challenges, partnered with the biggest festivals in Africa like LIPFEST and ALITFEST, successfully convened two well-attended writing conferences in 2017 and 2018 tagged: ‘African Writers Meet’, and released innovative services. In the founder’s own words, “We believe that in the years to come, The African Writers will be growing to become a multi-million dollar literary agency with stations and influence across all of Africa and the diaspora”.
