Benson T
Stears, a leading digital media startup in Nigeria, has secured a $600,000 funding in its seed investment round.
Nigerian-based Luminate Group led the seed round. According to the publication, an unnamed local VC also participated in the funding round.
Stears began in 2017 as a financial news site focused on Nigeria and was based at the London School of Economics. But looking to provide high-quality news and sources, the team launched into the information services industry. However, three years down the line, Stears is a big player in Nigeria riding on the back of a robust advert-based revenue model.
Stears Business and Stears Data are two of its biggest projects. The former is a niche media publication that provides news and information on an array of topics. These include finance, economics, and policymaking. The data division provides for research, data collection, and analytics.
Investment for a new business
The startup will use the investment to hire new talent and enhance its services in data collection. It will also explore new business options. It also targets launching a new digital data platform dubbed ‘CoreData’.The platform will be launched in June 2020.
According to Stears CEO Preston Ideh, the investment is a testament to the media startup’s work over the past three years.
He noted that investors have been attracted to the startup’s business model that “[does] not rely on advertising revenue.” Without ads, the platform has cultivated an environment of editorial independence and trust.
The funding is an illustration of the company’s long-term focus, he added. Another startup 54gene recently raised $15 million in its series A funding.
