The Republic Journal is quickly gaining rapport amongst African youth for being a digestible news outlet for the past, present, and future of Africa, all thanks to Wale Lawal- founder and CEO of the Republic Editorial. The award winning magazine covers everything the Nigerian youth could possibly want to grasp their hands on, and things they probably need to become better versed in; from political issues
to ideas about Afro-beats, this magazine has it all from a purely African lens. In order to make the publishing of this magazine as inclusive as possible, Lawal works in cohorts with more than 1,000 African, and diasporan, contributors to be able to touch on all matters that affects (pan)Africans as a whole, making it recognizable a as a media venture that covers a good amount of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Lawal’s main goal that he tries to pursue through his ventures remains simple: a clear focus on Africa’s media skills and highlighting those voices who have unfortunately gone unnoticed. Even though his main audience is the African youth, Lawal has curated the magazine in a way that it could be digestible for anyone, however, they would be forced to understand what is being read through the African eye.
Considering he has degrees from Bath, LSE, and Oxford, it is of no surprise that Lawal was able to come up with an idea as entrepreneurial as this, where he researched about the business ecosystem in Nigeria and went on to write Harvard case studies about it later on.
The Republic at times features literary work which could be a vested interest for Lawal considering his past short fictions and artwork that have been exhibited in Biennales, like the Venice one.
His prolonged interest in economics, as well as his degree, is what helped him to redesign Nigeria's current taxation policy on alcoholic drinks, allowing the government to gain over 100 million tax revenue whilst saving 276 million in annual revenue.
Some of the awards he’s been awarded are: Special Award Shortlist, Special Award Longlist, Quartz Africa Innovator, and New Voice Award Longlist.
