The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) has announced the sale of its controlling stake in Nation Media Group (NMG), bringing to a close a 66-year partnership that helped build one of East and Central Africa’s most influential media organizations.
In a statement issued on March 10, 2026, in Geneva, Switzerland, The Aga Khan Fund confirmed it had agreed to sell its 100 percent shareholding in NPRT Holdings Africa Limited (NPRT) to Taarifa Ltd, an investment firm owned by East African businessman Rostam Aziz. NPRT holds a 54.08 percent stake in Nation Media Group PLC, equivalent to 92.62 million ordinary shares.
The transaction effectively transfers majority control of the Nairobi-listed media company to Taarifa Ltd, marking a major shift in the ownership structure of the region’s largest independent media house.
The move concludes a long-standing relationship that began in 1959, when the late His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV founded East African Newspapers (Nation Series) Ltd and acquired the Kiswahili weekly Taifa Leo, laying the foundation for what would become Nation Media Group.
“The transaction marks the conclusion of AKFED’s 66-year association with NMG,” the statement said, adding that the company is now poised to expand its impact through further investment in digital transformation.
Taarifa Ltd said it intends to support NMG’s transition and accelerate its digital growth strategy.
“We are honored and deeply committed to becoming the majority shareholder of Nation Media Group,” said Rostam Aziz, owner of Taarifa Ltd.
“NMG is an institution of profound importance to East Africa, and we will uphold its editorial independence while investing in its continued success as the region’s leading independent media organisation.”
Aziz brings significant experience in the regional media sector. Between 2000 and 2006, he was a co-founder and shareholder of Mwananchi Communications Limited in Tanzania, where he helped establish Mwananchi, The Citizen, and Mwanaspoti newspapers.
The company was later acquired by Nation Media Group. He currently holds interests in Habari Corporation, another Tanzanian media house.
AKFED Director Sultan Allana praised NMG’s contribution to journalism and democratic discourse across East Africa.
“AKFED is proud of its contribution to building one of Africa’s most respected media institutions,” Allana said. “We are confident NMG will continue to uphold the values of independent journalism and service to the public that have defined it for over six decades.”
From modest beginnings as a Kiswahili-language newspaper, NMG has grown into a multi-platform media conglomerate with more than 30 brands across four countries, reaching over 62 million digital users and employing more than 1,000 professionals.
Its flagship title, the Daily Nation, first published on 20 March 1960, quickly established itself as a trusted source of news and analysis even before Kenya’s independence in 1963.
The company later became one of the first media houses in Africa to list on a securities exchange, with its shares trading on the Nairobi Securities Exchange since 1973.
Over the decades, the group has expanded regionally and across platforms, launching The EastAfrican in 1994 and entering broadcast media in 1999 with NTV Kenya and Easy FM. It further expanded into Uganda through the acquisition of the Daily Monitor and into Tanzania through Mwananchi Communications.
NMG has also invested heavily in digital transformation, becoming one of the first African media companies to establish a comprehensive online presence in 2006. Today, the group’s digital platforms reach tens of millions of users across the region.
Beyond commercial operations, the company has played a significant role in public interest journalism and civic education. Initiatives such as the Newspapers in Education programme, launched in 2009, have helped promote literacy and civic awareness in marginalized schools.
AKFED also highlighted the role of the Aga Khan University’s Graduate School of Media and Communications (GSMC) in strengthening journalism in the region.
Since its launch in 2015, the school has trained thousands of media professionals through postgraduate degrees and executive education programmes.
With the ownership transition now underway, attention will shift to how the new majority shareholder will steer the next phase of NMG’s growth, particularly as the media industry undergoes rapid digital disruption and evolving audience habits.
Both AKFED and Taarifa Ltd emphasized that editorial independence and public-interest journalism will remain central to the group’s mission as it enters its next chapter.
Over the past decade, Nation Media Group (NMG) has shifted from being one of East Africa’s most profitable media companies to a business grappling with mounting structural and financial pressures.
At its height, the group reported profits exceeding KSh 2.5 billion in 2013. Since then, however, profitability has steadily weakened. The company recorded consecutive annual losses in 2023 and 2024, marking the first time in more than ten years that the media house posted back-to-back deficits.
Deepening financial troubles
For 2024, NMG reported a net loss of KSh 254.4 million, deepening from a KSh 205.7 million loss in 2023.
The group’s revenues have also come under strain. Turnover declined by 12.5% in 2024 to KSh 6.23 billion, reflecting persistent pressure on the company’s traditional income streams.
Earnings from the Daily Nation, long regarded as the company’s flagship revenue generator, alongside broadcast operations such as NTV Kenya, have been squeezed by the rapid shift toward digital media, falling print circulation and softer advertising demand.
Adding to the pressure has been a significant liquidity constraint linked to unpaid advertising bills from the Kenyan government, which by 2024 had accumulated to about KSh 800 million owed to NMG alone.
At the same time, broader economic conditions have made operations more expensive.
High inflation, weaker consumer spending and the sharp depreciation of the Kenyan shilling have driven up the cost of key inputs, particularly imported newsprint and fuel.
It is against this backdrop that the recent operational consolidation in Uganda should be interpreted.
For a publicly listed regional media company confronting sustained losses, delayed state payments, rising production costs and declining legacy revenues, stricter financial discipline becomes unavoidable.
Every unit must account for its costs. Any overlapping operations come under scrutiny.
Within that context, the decision to merge the Saturday and Sunday Monitor editions reflects a broader effort to tighten operational efficiency.
The Shrinking Print Core
The financial pressure facing the group did not emerge overnight. Signs of long-term erosion in the print business had already begun to appear years earlier.
After 29 Years in Court, Government Ordered to Pay UGX 512.9 Million in Kamuli Land DisputeIn December 2023, then Managing Director of NMG Uganda, Tony Glencross, offered a frank assessment of the company’s changing revenue structure.
“Over the years, our advertising revenue has shrunk,” he observed.
Even more telling, he noted that “our circulation revenue has come down to about 60% of what it was.”
That decline carries major implications for the economics of print publishing.
When circulation income falls to roughly three-fifths of its previous level, production becomes more expensive on a per-copy basis. Printing and distribution costs remain largely fixed, meaning they do not decrease at the same pace as circulation.
As a result, smaller print runs translate into higher unit costs. Weekend newspapers, typically larger, more feature-heavy and costlier to produce, are particularly exposed.
Following the disruption caused by COVID-19, print circulation in Uganda rebounded to around 15,000 copies, according to Glencross. Yet this still represented about 4,000 copies fewer than pre-pandemic levels.
The recovery suggested that the pandemic had accelerated an already ongoing structural shift away from print consumption.
“The analogue product revenue has shrunk, but other revenue sources have grown, and that’s how we have been able to maintain profitability,” he said.
Those alternative revenue streams included expansion in radio operations, courier services, interest income and event businesses, which together generated between UGX700 million and UGX1 billion annually.
However, diversification alone cannot indefinitely compensate for weakening print income. At some point, operational structures must adjust to the new revenue reality.
Combining two weekend editions into a single publication reduces duplication across editorial production, printing schedules, distribution logistics and staffing. It also consolidates advertising inventory into one stronger weekend product while simplifying distribution.
In a media environment characterised by narrowing margins, such consolidation reflects pragmatic management.
Digital First, Late but Urgent
Across the wider organisation, restructuring efforts have been guided by NMG’s “North Star” strategy (2022–2027), a plan designed to shift the company toward a digital-first publishing model.
By the end of 2024, the group reported that 83% of its journalism was produced digital-first, meaning content appeared online before being adapted for print.
NMG has also expanded digital subscription systems, introducing paywalls across its markets, including the Nation.Africa platform in Kenya, while building subscription products such as Tanzania’s MwanaClick app.
Despite overall revenue pressures, digital income rose by 11% in 2024.
Looking ahead, the company has set an ambitious objective of generating USD 55 million in digital revenue by 2027.
In Uganda, however, Glencross acknowledged that the push toward digital transformation might have come sooner.
Reflecting on his leadership period, he said that if he could revisit 2014, he would prioritise a digital-first approach much earlier.
Management, he noted, initially concentrated on restoring profitability within the analogue business, “forgetting that we needed to develop a business for the future.”
The shift is underway but still evolving. At the time of his remarks, digital subscriptions were increasing by about 40 per day, though he admitted that pace remained insufficient to fully deliver on the North Star strategy.
Seen in this context, the weekend edition consolidation represents a strategic reallocation of resources.
Running parallel print operations while simultaneously investing heavily in digital transformation can stretch both capital and management capacity. Consolidating print operations therefore frees resources that can be redirected toward digital expansion.
Cost Cutting, Bureau Closures and Workforce Restructuring
The decision in Uganda mirrors a broader restructuring process taking place across the group.
Over the past decade, NMG has undertaken several rounds of workforce reductions, including in 2016, 2020, 2021, 2024 and again in late 2025.
In early 2026, the company also shut down its Mombasa regional newsroom, shifting staff to remote operations as part of efforts to reduce operational costs.
Other regional bureaux, including Kisumu and Eldoret, have also seen downsizing.
In 2023, NMG recognised declining print activity by impairing its printing press assets, reflecting reduced utilisation as circulation volumes continued to fall.
The company’s board additionally suspended dividend payments for the 2024 financial year, opting instead to preserve cash for digital investment.
During the same period, NMG launched a share buyback programme in 2023, acquiring roughly 19 million shares in a move aimed at addressing stock undervaluation and strengthening investor confidence.
Taken together, these steps illustrate a media organisation undergoing a significant strategic transition, moving away from a legacy print-centred business model toward a digitally driven media platform.
The sale of the Aga Khan Fund’s stake therefore comes at a time when Nation Media Group is already navigating profound structural changes reshaping the global news industry.
