Memunatu

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Memunatu’s aim is to create a co-curricular publication for teenage girls (10-17 yrs old) in Sierra Leone that promotes, literacy, leadership, and female empowerment.

Standings & Awards

20 out of 591 in Africa
12 out of 779 in Education
23 out of 935 in Design
23 out of 1066 in Blended
58 out of 4003 Overall

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Memunatu Magazine

Memunatu: a magazine for teenage girls to promote literacy, female leadership, and economic development

In Sierra Leone, low literacy remains a systemic issue particularly pronounced for girls. While 64% of boys between the ages of 15-24 are literate, only 44% of girls have a basic reading level (UNICEF). This disparity puts girls at a disadvantage at all levels of education and contributes to increased drop out rates, early pregnancy, and other negative effects that ultimately impact the society at large. One decade after civil war, females now have the opportunity to change their circumstances.

Memunatu is a co-curricular publication for teenage girls (10-17 yrs old) in Sierra Leone. Our mission is to create a unique, community-driven magazine that will specifically target under-served girls with a range of educational and fun content. Distributed through secondary schools with accompanying Teacher’s Guide, Memunatu bridges the gap between educational and extracurricular life.

Memunatu will include the following components:

Trends (ranging from fashion to games that are of interest in teenage girls in Sierra Leone)
Health (initiatives and issues impact the Memunatu Girl on a daily basis and ways girls can take action),
Self-Betterment (suggestions to improve writing, public speaking, and leadership skills,
Finance/Entrepreneurship (money saving tips and examples of teen entrepreneurship), as well as
Suggested Reading (corresponds with their school work), and the Interactive Section with (activities such as story writing and creative responses that engage the girls with the material. Importantly, the
Feature will portray exceptional girls excelling at school as well as prominent Sierra Leonean women to serve as role models for the readers.

Key benefits of Memunatu are that 1) it engages material that is interesting and intellectually enriching 2) is age appropriate 3) incorporates what students are learning in school and 4) is free for students.

Low female literacy is not unique to Sierra Leone. After Memunatu has reached out to 200 schools in Sierra Leone and expanded to individual subscriptions, Memunatu will eventually grow to other Anglophone West African countries (year 5 +) maintaining its for-profit model. We hope that eventually, Memunatu could be found all over the African continent.

FIVE PROJECT QUESTIONS Required (60 - 90 minutes)

1. What is your innovation?

Memunatu is a unique approach to tackling female literacy in Sub-Saharan Africa. Why a magazine? Magazines are a relatable medium for this demographic (10-17 year old girls). For girls not normally interested in reading, the magazine format is the ideal method to encourage girls to read what interests them. Memunatu will attract girls to the aspect of reading regularly.

2. Who gains the most?

Teenage girls in Sierra Leone: The students gain fun reading material that is both educational and relatable. The magazine reinforces skills taught in the classroom and presents avenues for the girls to interact with the articles and express themselves. Schools: Educators gain a means of engaging students with material that supplements their studies. Memunatu provides a method of reaching students in a way that traditional assignments may not and featuring students excelling in their schools.

3. Who pays?

Memunatu’s revenue plan includes subscription sales to schools as well as money from sponsorship. Sponsorship is treated as advertising would in traditional magazines. Sponsors are selected based on their relation to our target market and the subject matter of the magazine. Sponsors will include local organizations and businesses with a focus on the magazines ideals (local/national/international). Revenue from sponsorship keeps costs low for schools.

4. What is your success?

Impact is measured in the short term through responses to the magazine. This includes student’s texts about their favorite articles, submissions in the Interactive section and online, and the Teacher’s Guide that tracks students’ progress over time. Increased girls’ academic performance and more than 80% repeat customers (schools and sponsors) will measure success.

5. How will you do it?

Memunatu will first target the 287 Junior Secondary Schools (51,084 female students) and then Senior Secondary Schools, offering a total population of 2,118,615 girls. We aim to distribute Memunatu to at least one school in each of the 14 districts within the first three years. Low female literacy is not unique to Sierra Leone. After reaching out to 200 schools in Sierra Leone and expanding to individual subscriptions, Memunatu will eventually grow to other Anglophone W. African countries.