Fola Folayan.
Communications strategist. Journalist. Media entrepreneur. Connecting stories with people—and people with possibility.
Fola Folayan is a communications strategist, media entrepreneur and cross-border journalism advocate who designs audience-centred storytelling systems that help newsrooms grow reach, trust and sustainability. She works at the intersection of journalism, partnerships and communications, leading training and engagement strategies that connect investigative reporting to real-world communities.
As Communications and Partnerships Manager at the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ), she has led global communications and partnership initiatives for investigative and public-interest journalism projects, driving fundraising campaigns, international visibility and multi-platform audience growth.
Her work spans podcast production, newsletters, community building, live events and digital content strategy, alongside designing professional learning programs and convening journalists across Africa and beyond.
A career built around
the power of a story.
A broadcast journalist by training, Fola spent a decade on air producing and hosting live socio-political talk shows on Nigeria’s first national talk radio, reaching more than half a million listeners monthly and sharpening her instinct for clarity, public dialogue and storytelling that moves people.
She then founded The Radio Masterclass, a training and mentorship platform that has supported over 400 early-career broadcasters and journalists with curriculum, internships and practical newsroom skills, helping build the next generation of African media professionals.
She also co-founded Africa Talks Network, a multi-format network dedicated to telling African stories rooted in context, nuance and lived experience.
From the microphone to the movement.
Broadcast journalist
Produced and hosted live socio-political talk shows on Nigeria’s first national talk radio, reaching more than half a million listeners monthly.
The Radio Masterclass
Built a training and mentorship platform supporting over 400 early-career broadcasters and journalists.
Africa Talks Network
A multi-format network telling African stories rooted in context, nuance and lived experience.
CCIJ
Communications and Partnerships Manager at the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism.