In its bid to improve the international visibility of African journals through robust databases and indexing, Research Africa Publications has announced plans to launch the African journal aggregator portal.
The free-to-use platform was founded by Olasunkanmi Arowolo, a Nigerian scholar who got inspired by the lack of access to African works during his studies abroad and it seeks to address the limited digital availability of African journals.
Arowolo noted that the goal of the platform is to provide viable digital solutions that bridge the research visibility gap for African journals and scholars.
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“By hosting African journals on our platform and applying rigorous peer-review standards, we aim to help transition these journals from local to international status and impact,” Arowolo said.
He said the platform has a user-friendly interface and cutting-edge technology that allows users to search for journals by categories, disciplines, and year of release. It also features modern journal management systems, allowing editors, authors, and publishers to track submissions, manage reviewer boards and handle their collections efficiently in the cloud.
“The launch of the website is coming at a time when we lost a legend in the Nigeria academic community in the person of Prof. Lai Oso, who was part of the conception of this platform and had been pencilled down to be a co-director and member of the editorial board. Unfortunately, he passed away. As part of honouring him, the launch, which is scheduled to hold in mid-August 2023, will be in his memory.
“It is also important to note that the pre-launch activities are already underway. To this end, contributions are invited from all fields and must adhere to Research Africa’s standard research and ethical guidelines enforced by the publication’s editorial board of renowned African academics from around the world. User privacy, data security, and ethical compliance are also top priorities,” he said, adding that while paid subscriptions are available, the aim is to make the content predominantly open access to relieve the financial burden on African researchers.
Arowolo said he sees the platform ultimately becoming an African equivalent of major international journal publishers like SAGE, Taylor & Francis, and Routledge – providing tailored services for the African market. He added that collaborations and partnerships with academic institutions and research organisations are also envisioned.
