Get Guardian on GoogleAfrica is home to countless stories, from cultural traditions and historical discoveries to emerging creatives, technological innovations and businesses transforming their communities. Yet many of these stories rarely make it beyond the places where they originate.
For Onyema Courage, founder of African Folder, this presents an opportunity to change how the continent is documented and experienced through digital media.
Founded in 2022, African Folder was established to tell African stories beyond the conventional boundaries of entertainment and breaking news, covering culture, history, music, fashion, film, business and technology.
Courage’s journey into media entrepreneurship began with blogging and years of experience in Nigerian newsrooms. However, the platform is driven by a broader ambition: helping Africans discover their own stories while giving international audiences a more complete understanding of the continent.
Rather than restrict its coverage to a particular country or category, African Folder was designed to accommodate the many dimensions of African life.
Its editorial interests span music, film, fashion, history, business, technology, art and culture, alongside significant developments involving African personalities and communities.
The idea is to create a platform where an emerging painter in Nigeria, a cultural festival in Ghana, a historical discovery in Kenya or a technological innovation elsewhere on the continent can all find an audience.
For Courage, African storytelling should not be limited by geography or conventional media categories. Every community has stories worth documenting, and every African country has individuals and developments deserving of wider recognition.
One of the defining aspects of African Folder’s editorial approach is its interest in individuals whose achievements might otherwise remain largely unknown.
Across the continent, people are doing remarkable things within their communities, often without the publicity that could introduce their work to a wider audience.
“What drives me most is shining a light on people who might never have been seen,” Courage says. “We find a painter, a sculptor, a dancer, and we spotlight them. Other outlets pick up the story, and their careers begin to grow.”
One example is Ovwighosuotu Darlyton, popularly known as Smartician, a young Nigerian inventor who creates detailed models from cardboard. African Folder featured him in June 2025, among the earliest media platforms to spotlight his work. He is now studying in China while pursuing his ambition of becoming an engineer.
The platform’s coverage has also extended to creatives and innovators across Africa and its diaspora, reflecting its commitment to identifying talent beyond established names and mainstream entertainment figures.
Laetitia Ky, an Ivorian visual artist, is one such example. She began creating sculptures using her braided hair in 2016, developing an artistic style through which she addresses issues including the #MeToo movement, gun violence and gender equality. Her work has also been exhibited at Place de la Bastille in Paris.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, engineer Désiré Kabengele attracted attention after building a wooden treadmill that operates without electricity as his final project in electromechanics. The invention was designed to address a local challenge, as insecurity in the region makes outdoor training difficult for runners. Africanews reported the treadmill as the first in Africa to meet international standards.
In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Kalu Putik, known online as kaluputics, has built an audience through his unconventional approach to fashion, creating high-fashion outfits from discarded materials, including old clothes, worn boots and rubber tyres. His following has grown to more than 500,000 on Instagram and 700,000 on TikTok, with American singer SZA among those who have shown admiration for his work.
South African performer Cool Zet also represents the kind of emerging talent African Folder seeks to document. He first attracted attention at the age of 15 when he performed an original song about xenophobia on *SA’s Got Talent*. The song was inspired by a friend from the Democratic Republic of Congo who had been forced to leave South Africa.
Another example is Moroccan footballer Adnane Hajjam, nicknamed the country’s ‘Little Messi’. He was seven when videos of his football skills went viral, eventually attracting the attention of Raja Casablanca, which welcomed him into its academy.
For Courage, the value of such coverage extends beyond views and social media engagement. It is about creating opportunities for talented individuals to gain recognition and access new audiences.
“What these individuals have in common is that they represent the talent, creativity and diversity that make Africa special,” he said in written responses.
“We want to tell stories that go beyond the familiar names and give recognition to people who are doing remarkable things in their respective fields. Sometimes, all it takes is the right story reaching the right audience to open doors and create new opportunities for someone.”
Courage believes international coverage of Africa often focuses heavily on conflict, poverty and political instability, leaving less room for the continent’s cultural contributions, achievements and creative potential.
Through African Folder, he hopes to contribute to a broader representation of the continent without overlooking the realities of its challenges.
“Africa is often covered through a narrow lens of crisis,” he says. “We want to show the full picture: the culture, the talent, the ambition and also the challenges.”
He maintains that presenting a more balanced picture does not mean avoiding difficult subjects or ignoring issues affecting African societies.
“We don’t shy away from difficult stories,” he says. “We tell them, but alongside everything else Africa is.”
The objective is to document the continent in all its complexity, celebrating achievements, examining challenges, preserving history and highlighting the people shaping its future.
Africa’s history, traditions, languages, creative expressions and contemporary achievements form an important part of its identity. Documenting these stories creates opportunities for present and future generations to discover, understand and engage with their heritage.
Courage wants African Folder to become a lasting resource that captures different aspects of the continent, including stories from communities, cultures and backgrounds that might otherwise receive limited media attention.
The ambition is to build a platform that reflects Africa’s diversity rather than presenting a narrow selection of its experiences.
As African Folder continues to develop, its mission remains centred on giving African stories greater visibility, connecting overlooked talents with wider opportunities and ensuring that the continent’s narratives are documented from multiple perspectives.
For Courage, building African Folder is ultimately about more than creating another digital publication. It is about ensuring that Africa has platforms capable of telling its stories, preserving its experiences and presenting its people to the world on their own terms.
