The African Journals Initiative Newsletter!
We are looking to partner with more journals published from the African continent for 2027. In 2025, Pluto Journals and African Books Collective (ABC) launched the African Journals Initiative, working with a growing community of no-fee (‘diamond’) Open Access (OA) social science and humanities journals based in African universities, supported by ScienceOpen and JSTOR.
In the first year, the initiative onboarded five journals including: Dhaxalreeb (Somaliland); Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies (Tanzania); Ibadan Journal of Sociology (Nigeria); and Journal of Humanities, hosted at the University of Malawi.
Editors from the first cohort have praised the initiative for improving their journals’ access to international discoverability, attracting high-quality submissions and increasing readership.
MJ Chuhila, Editor-in-Chief of Zamani, celebrated the journal’s inclusion in the Directory of Open Access (DOAJ) database, describing it as “another cherished fruit of this publishing partnership.” While Olayinka Akanle, Editor-in-Chief of Ibadan Journal of Sociology, commented, “AJI has helped us meet international publishing standards while keeping the journal rooted in African scholarship. The partnership is a classic example of a partnership that works, and that is very beneficial.”
The second year of the initiative includes additional journals such as Bakwethu: A Journal of Shakespeare Studies (South Africa), Ghana Journal of Sociology and Anthropology (Ghana), Botswana Notes & Records (Botswana), African Journal of Bioethics (Kenya), and People Centred – The Journal of Development Administration (Zimbabwe).
Apply to the 2027 cohort
We invite eligible journals to apply here to be part of the 2027 cohort. Please review the standard eligibility criteria before submitting your application.
The deadline for applications is 30 September 2026.
New AJI Board Member
We are pleased to announce that Chenjerai Mabhiza, the African Studies Librarian at Michigan State University (MSU), MI, USA, has joined the AJI advisory board. Before joining the MSU, Chenjerai worked as a librarian in different capacities for more than twenty-five (25 years) at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ), Namibian Agriculture and Water Information Center (Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF), and the University of Namibia (UNAM), Africa, where he also served as research methodology part-time lecturer in business administration (Namibia Business School) and security and strategic studies (School of Military Science), before relocating to the United Sates. Mabhiza brings a wealth of knowledge and experience on African scholarship. Please view the full bio here.
Reshaping Narratives
According to the BBC, the UN General Assembly has voted to replace the traditional world map with one that more accurately reflects the size of Africa. This speaks to broader questions of representation and the ways in which perceptions are shaped. As Lerato Mogoatlhe from Africa No Filter argued, “Africa’s misrepresentation on world maps is not just a cartographic error – it’s a narrative issue.” The same can be said of African scholarship. Africa has had a long history of scholarly publications in the Social Sciences and Humanities which have not been widely represented. AJI has been established to address this imbalance and enhance the profile and discoverability, increase the usage and submission and internationalise these valuable resources.
The initial six 2025 AJI journals and five new 2026 AJI titles are Diamond Open Access and all articles are free to read. You will be able to see the issues as they are published on ScienceOpen and JSTOR
We are currently considering titles for 2027 and have an exciting selection of journals from across Africa. We look forward to sharing them with you.
If you have any colleagues that might be interested, please share this newsletter with them. We will continue to highlight the latest articles from the African Journals Initiative, and they can sign up here.
