Documenting Nigerian Podcasting
The Nigerian Podcast Index (NPI) is an independent research and documentation project tracking podcasts produced in Nigeria and by Nigerians.
We believe that if a medium is shaping how people tell stories, build communities, share knowledge and express themselves, there should be a record of it.
The NPI exists to help create that record.
It brings together publicly available podcast information, primarily through RSS feeds, alongside submissions from podcast creators. The information is organised into a working dataset that can be studied, updated and used to understand the Nigerian podcast landscape.
Why the NPI exists
Podcasting has given Nigerians a relatively accessible way to publish without the traditional barriers of broadcast media.
Thousands of conversations are taking place across different platforms, languages, communities and countries. Yet much of this activity remains difficult to see as a whole.
There is no single place that tells us:
- What Nigerian podcasts exist
- Who is producing them
- What subjects they cover
- Which languages they use
- Where they are being produced
- Which platforms they rely on
- Which shows remain active
- Where opportunities and gaps are emerging
The NPI is an attempt to make that picture clearer.
Not to rank the industry.
Not to tell creators what they should make.
Simply to document what is there and observe how it changes.
A working record, not a definitive census
The NPI is community-maintained and based on podcasts that can be identified, surfaced and verified through available information.
That means it should not be interpreted as a definitive count of every Nigerian podcast in existence.
Podcasts start, stop, disappear, migrate between platforms and change publishing schedules. Some are difficult to discover through conventional search. Others may not yet have been submitted to the Index.
The numbers therefore represent the NPI dataset at a particular point in time, rather than the entirety of Nigerian podcasting.
Our objective is to build a useful, increasingly reliable record over time.
From directory to research
The NPI began as a way of making Nigerian podcasts easier to discover.
It has evolved into something broader: a source of data for understanding the ecosystem.
The dataset supports periodic Nigerian Podcast Index industry reports, examining patterns in podcast activity, content, language, platforms, geography, infrastructure and other aspects of the medium.
The first major NPI dataset documented 329 podcast titles, with 241 classified as active at the time of analysis.
The 2026 edition continues that work with an expanded dataset and a closer look at how Nigerian podcasting is developing.
What we track
Depending on what is publicly available, NPI records may include:
Podcast title
Host or producer
Description
RSS feed
Hosting platform
Genre or category
Language
Publishing status
Country or location
Public contact and social information
The data is used to identify patterns rather than to make judgments about individual creators or shows.
What the NPI is not
The Nigerian Podcast Index is not:
- A podcast ranking
- A ratings or review platform
- A podcast network
- A talent agency
- A production company
- A commercial advertising marketplace
- An authority that determines which podcasts are officially Nigerian
Inclusion in the Index does not imply an endorsement of a podcast, its views, its quality or its commercial performance.
It simply means that the show has been identified and documented within the NPI’s methodology.
Built for the ecosystem
The NPI is intended to be useful to several groups.
Creators can use it to improve discoverability and see how their work fits into the wider landscape.
Researchers and academics can use the data as a starting point for studying Nigerian digital audio.
Brands and media organisations can gain a clearer picture of the types of audiences and content emerging in the space.
Industry stakeholders can identify gaps, opportunities and infrastructure needs.
And, perhaps most importantly, listeners can discover Nigerian voices that might otherwise remain buried in platform algorithms.
Our approach
The NPI is independent.
It is built around a simple principle: document first, interpret carefully.
Where the data is incomplete, we acknowledge the limitation. Where classifications are imperfect, we continue refining them. Where the ecosystem changes, the dataset changes with it.
The NPI is therefore a work in progress—and deliberately so.
Nigerian podcasting is still young. Its story is still being written.
We’re keeping a record as it unfolds.
The Nigerian Podcast Index
Research. Documentation. Discoverability.
Tony ONWUCHEKWA
Tony Onwuchekwa (Tony Doe ) is a media consultant, podcast industry analyst and digital media professional with more than two decades of experience across radio, podcasting and content production.
He is the Founder and Lead Curator of the Nigerian Podcast Index (NPI), an independent initiative documenting Nigerian podcasts and the people, stories and ideas shaping the country’s podcast ecosystem. The NPI was created to improve discoverability, preserve a record of Nigerian podcasting, and provide useful industry data for creators, researchers, publishers and brands.
Tony also hosts and produces Into The Podverse, a podcast and newsletter exploring the business, technology and culture of podcasting. His wider media work spans podcast production, consulting, content strategy and audience development.
He writes and speaks about podcasting, digital media, creator infrastructure and the evolving African media economy, with a particular interest in building a healthier and more sustainable environment for independent creators.