Why Most Press Releases From Nigerian Startups Go Nowhere
Many Nigerian startups treat PR as a one-time event tied to a launch or funding announcement — write a press release, send it to a long list of media contacts pulled from a generic database, and hope something lands. This approach rarely produces meaningful coverage, because journalists receive dozens of similar releases daily from companies they have no prior relationship with, and a release alone gives them no particular reason to prioritise your story over anyone else’s.
Effective media relations works more like relationship building than broadcasting. Journalists covering Nigerian tech, business, and consumer sectors are far more likely to cover a story from a founder or company they already know something about, which means the relationship-building work needs to happen well before there is a specific announcement to pitch.
Build the Relationship Before You Need the Coverage
The startups and brands that consistently earn coverage in Nigerian and international press are usually the ones whose founders or communications teams have invested time in genuinely useful engagement with relevant journalists long before any specific news to announce — sharing helpful context when a journalist is researching a sector story, offering a quote or perspective without immediately asking for coverage in return, and being a reliable, responsive source over time.
- Identify 10-15 journalists who consistently cover your sector, not a generic mass media list
- Engage with their existing work (genuine, specific feedback) before ever pitching your own story
- Offer expertise or commentary on stories already in progress, without an immediate ask
- Be consistently responsive and reliable when a journalist does reach out, even for something small
What Makes a Story Actually Newsworthy to a Nigerian Business Journalist
A funding announcement or product launch is rarely newsworthy on its own merits unless it connects to a broader trend the journalist’s audience cares about — market size, a notable first, a contrarian angle, or a genuinely unusual data point from your business. Pitches framed around "why this matters to the broader Nigerian tech or business ecosystem" consistently outperform pitches framed purely around "here is what our company did."
Press Releases Still Have a Role, Just Not as the Primary Strategy
A well-written press release remains useful as a supporting document — something to send to journalists you already have a relationship with, or to have available when a journalist researching a story needs official quotes and facts. Treating it as the entire strategy, rather than one tool within a broader relationship-based approach, is the most common reason Nigerian startup PR efforts underdeliver.
