Hi Readers,
As 2024 draws to a close, we at Dataphyte are filled with gratitude and pride for the remarkable milestones achieved this year. From pioneering initiatives to meaningful collaborations, 2024 has been a year of growth, impact, and innovation. Thank you for being part of our journey!
With your invaluable contributions, we executed several initiatives aimed at reinforcing democracy, advancing gender equality, and enhancing governance through data-driven methodologies.
In the year, we successfully convened a diverse assembly of experts, policymakers, and civil society leaders to deliberate on the influence of foreign powers, including Western nations, Russia, and China, on Nigeria’s democratic framework. This dialogue yielded practical recommendations to mitigate adverse foreign influence and strengthen democratic governance in the region.
Likewise, we concluded our training program for 25 journalists from Nigeria’s South-South and South-East regions under the gender data mainstreaming project. The 30-month project supported the broadcast media in Nigeria with the capacity to use data to promote gender equality and women empowerment in Nigeria.
Funded by the New Venture Fund (NVF), the project supported over 70 broadcast journalists and in 2024 alone, the third and final cohort produced over 60 data-driven radio and TV programs, reaching an estimated audience of over 21 million Nigerians at the grassroots with content to raise awareness of critical gender-related issues.
We also implemented the Small-holder Women Farmers Database initiative, aimed at developing a digitalised database of over 700 thousand smallholder women farmers across Nigeria. This project funded by the International Budget Partnership (IBP) empowers women farmers by providing them with the essential knowledge to effectively utilise their farmer database for sustainable agriculture advocacy and informed policy decision-making.
As part of our data access and accountability strategy, we launched the Just Energy Transition (JET) Minerals Project. The project continues to increase access to green minerals in Africa, build capacity of accountability stakeholders to monitor, and manage resources and revenue within the African energy and extractive industries. This project, funded by the USAID in partnership with the CJID, is currently implemented in four countries – Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Dataphyte’s civic technology platform, ANFANI and Goloka are combined with human resource and training to drive the project.
The partnership with the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource center) produced a series of environmental impact assessments and reports based on the comprehensive data collection initiatives to understand consequences of oil exploitation in six Niger Delta states. The reports underscored the urgent need for enhanced policy measures and robust regulatory frameworks within the oil industry to address pressing environmental concerns.
Furthermore, Dataphyte initiated a digital governance literacy and technology accountability initiative to review increasing innovation and investment in frontier technologies across the Nigerian governments’ parastatals and to increase knowledge of digital laws and regulations among citizens and civic organisations. This is being implemented as part of an ongoing collaboration with NITDA as Technology and Innovation Working Group co-chairs of the Open Government Partnership(OGP) programme.
Programmatically, the year also marked the culmination of the collaborative Media Engagement for Development, Inclusion and Accountability Program funded by the MacArthur Foundation. The programme aimed to promote Access to Information and Social Accountability for the Socially Secluded project produced 10 investigative reports through story grants, with one of the stories winning a prize at the just concluded West Africa Journalism Awards.
These initiatives exemplify our shared commitment to utilise data as a powerful tool for effecting positive societal change and influencing public policy outcomes.
Looking ahead, we remain dedicated to advancing our efforts, propelled by your continued partnership and encouragement. We anticipate many more years of impactful collaboration.
Highlights of Our Achievements in 2024
Pioneering Data Journalism
- Published over 473 exclusive data-driven stories, comprising 141 informative data cards, 23 investigations, and 309 in-depth reports uncovering insights and driving transparency across governance, public finance, and development. (Read our reports here)
- Published 158 branded data-driven reports as weekly newsletters to our mailing list. (Subscribe to get the latest edition)
- We created #FAACFacts dashboard and 7 interactive visualizations to analyse the “Federal account allocation committee (FAAC) allocation to local government areas (LGAs) in Nigeria”, providing users with data-driven insights to better understand government allocation trends at the local government level. (View the dashboard here)
- Expanded the reach of our storytelling through interactive data visualisation tools, making complex information accessible to all.
- Created a community of practice for campus journalists and writers. More details on this in 2025!!!
Capacity Building & Training
- Trained over 250 journalists, student journalists, researchers, and civic actors on using data for advocacy and accountability through workshops and webinars. (You can watch the webinars here)
- Twenty-five broadcast journalists were trained on how to use data effectively in mainstreaming gender in broadcast coverage of socio-economic and development themes. Six of these trainees became a part of Cohort 3 of Dataphyte’s Gender Mainstreaming Fellowship for 2024.
- Partnered with the CJID to train 95 investigative journalists and civic actors from Nigeria, DRC, Ghana, and Mozambique on using data for accountability and advocacy in the extractive sectors. This is part of the USAID-funded project to increase access to information in the African green minerals sector. Dataphyte is leading the data collection, training and development of the Africa Green Minerals Open Data portals with the goal of supporting the use of green minerals data for investigative reporting and anti-corruption advocacy across the continent.
- In partnership with the International Budget Partnership (IBP) and the Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), we trained 150 data enumerators on effective data collection to gather demographic information on smallholder women farmers across Nigeria.
- Our Dataphyte Academy launched and completed 2 cohort sessions on Data Analytics and Management training. (Visit our website to learn more)
Research & Policy Advocacy
- Released 4 policy brief publications on “The Media’s Agenda-Setting Role: Insights from the Coverage of Nigeria’s 2023 Elections”, “Nigeria: One Year of Foreign Policy under President Tinubu”, “Foreign Influence in West Africa’s Security Sector” and “Illegal Chinese Mining in Nigeria and its Political Implications“, in addition to 15 existing publications across agriculture, elections, foreign influence, health, budget, and technology. (Check out our publications here)
- Launched our state-of-the-art Dataphyte Innovation Hub and the Dapo Olorunyomi Theatre (DOT) in Abuja, Nigeria. (Book a space here)
Key External Engagements in 2024
Global Outreaches & Representations
- Showcased Goloka, our AI-powered data solution at Africa Media Festival 2024. (Watch here)
- Hosted a Panel session at the 4th Geopalooza event in Nairobi, Kenya. (Watch here)
- Participated in a panel discussion on “The AI Revolution: Should We Issue Warnings or Welcomes?” at the Center for Investigative Journalism summer conference at Goldsmiths University of London.
