Eyitemi Popo is creatively contributing to the Africa narrative with her digital magazine Ayiba. With a Masters in Digital Innovation Experience, she on a journey to redefining the truth about Africa and she’s not afraid to be regarded as a feminist. In her interview with Oluwatobi Balogun, she excitedly shares how Ayiba will change the African narrative via digital storytelling.
As a young African Millennial, what propelled you to start a digital magazine?
One of my areas of study at university was digital media. When I graduated, I wanted to develop a portfolio or project to grow my skills in that field. I had made short documentaries in university and wanted to keep telling stories. I decided on a digital magazine because I wanted people who shared my love of Africa from around the world and all over the continent to be able to contribute their stories to the magazine and create a space for a new kind of African narrative: one of growth, progress, innovation, and self-determination.
With over 18 digital issues and a print issue, how has Ayiba generated revenue since inception?
Ayiba launched in December 2012 with an indiegogo campaign that raised over $1,000 dollars. This paid a few years of hosting and other operational costs. This seed money gave me the freedom from the onset to experiment with different business models. Since then we have generated revenue from ads, e-commerce sales, and selling print copies of our anniversary issue. Those revenues have not amounted to much but were always re-invested. This year we have focused on creating partnerships. In the coming months, we will be hosting brand-sponsored events in Ayiba readers’ most popular cities in the US, Europe, and, of course, around Africa.
What does Ayiba mean and what plans does Ayiba have to change the African narrative via digital storytelling?
Ayiba means God or The Almighty, in the same way as Chukwu or Oluwa. My grandmother is from Bayelsa and it’s the name she gave me: Ayibapiriye.
We have been changing the African narrative by creating an archive of over five hundred first-person narratives on identity and culture from across the continent and the diaspora. We have stories from people who identify as African living in Brazil, Lesotho, Cape Verde, Angola, Egypt, New Orleans, and Australia, in addition to stories from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa, which are more common African narratives shared online. My goal was to create a space that complicates the African narrative revealing the depths and vastness of African heritage around the world.
Ayiba’s latest magazine issue.
Is content generation a challenge for the Ayiba team?
No, that has never been one of our challenges. So many African millennials are doing amazing things around the world and have a hard time finding coverage or places to share their stories, so we have found that people are generally willing to contribute. And with a dedicated team spread in several cities around the world, they engage with their networks to make sure we are getting stories from all over.
What important changes do you see happening in digital publishing right now?
There is so much happening in the realm of digital publishing: the spread of fake news, rise of “alternative facts,” and decline of journalistic integrity to name a few. A major change the entire industry is facing is the redefinition of truth. We have become accustomed to putting so much emphasis on sensational storytelling, that the truth, the bare facts of an issue, have been sidelined. In many ways, this is an age-old problem, at least it has been for Africa. Whose truth is the truth? So much of Africa’s truth and black people’s truth around the world has been defined for us by others. Now, we are seeing this on a different scale, but it’s a far too familiar experience for many African storytellers whose authenticity and veracity has always been validated by outside sources.
Do you think Africans worldwide have identity complexes?
The African identity is complex. Our recent history is one of colonization and oppression. We have our tribal or ethnic identities, our national identities (which were forced on us), and in some cases, colonial identities, which are still very powerful. Then for those who emigrate to or are born in a foreign country, they must assume at least a part of that country’s cultural identity to survive. And this is on top of other identities like gender, faith, and sexuality.
Our identities inform how we look, think, and speak. With so many conflicting and forced identities, people need to prioritize which identity they relate to most. This is what can cause identity complexes, especially when it becomes evident that the identity which informs how you look, and therefore how other people see you, is less relevant to you than the identity which informs how you think, speak, and are. Ayiba’s Afropolitan Diary series addresses this issue beautifully.
A pendant from Ayiba‘s handmade jewelry collection
Do you consider yourself a feminist? A lot of individuals feel feminism is overrated, do you have any counter opinions?
Yes, I am a feminist. I went to an all women’s college in the US like Hillary Clinton, Gloria Steinem, and other leading feminists, which helped me articulate my natural feminist leanings. Perhaps the trend of feminism, or “feminism lite” as Chimamanda Adichie calls it, is overrated. We should have moved past the point of needing to protest, create hashtags, and continuously voice that women deserve the same access and opportunity as men, but since that hasn’t happened, feminism as an ideology remains constant for me. Feminism is gender equality. If you are not for feminism, then you either object to women having equal human rights or could care less, which is just as problematic.
Do you have any experiences in the corporate world? If so, what impact does it have in running your business?
I was a digital marketing manager at the luxury French brand, L’Occitane en Provence in New York City. I am now an innovation strategist at a financial institution in Toronto, Canada. My corporate experiences give me confidence in the entrepreneurial world and inform how I create processes for my team members who work remotely across four different time zones.
Where do you see yourself and Ayiba Magazine in the next five years?
Ayiba is constantly opening new doors for me, so it will always be a part of my story. As I evolve, the magazine evolves. Leaving myself open to possibility has been the greatest contributor to my success. I’m not sure how it will look, but in five years, I see Ayiba remaining true to its mission of chronicling the African Renaissance.
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