Sierraloaded Hits 3.5 Million Users as It Celebrates Second-Year Anniversary
*Appoints Editor, Unveils New Website Design
Two years after its re-branding, Sierra Leone’s most popular digital media platform, Sierraloaded has attained a landmark 3.5 million users representing a 66% growth in one year. The platform is also celebrating its biennium year with a new website design.
Sierraloaded first began operations in 2014. However, seven years later, it was rebranded and positioned as a one-stop platform for everything ‘loaded’ in Sierra Leone – including news, music, videos, entertainment, sports, and more. Over the past two years, the platform has grown to become a leader in Sierra Leone’s digital media space attracting 64 million pageviews, 3.5 million users, and 20 million sessions.
Head of Business, Alhaji Gamanga (Med Spark) said, “It’s been a pretty amazing year of progress for us. We have witnessed growing momentum in our platform and business services, and this affirms our strong contribution to informing and enriching Sierra Leoneans’ everyday life.
“Beyond our round-the-clock digital publishing, we have supported brands, created employment opportunities, donated to the less privileged and we are raising the next generation of digital media practitioners. This outcome motivates us better and makes us a stronger digital company that builds innovative products to help sustain our country’s digital transformation drive.”
Gamanga said he is awed by recent feedback received from users who applauded Sierraloaded’s innovative, transparent, and professional mode of operation adding that the platform will remain to be consistent, non-partisan, balanced, and fair in its service delivery.
To mark its second anniversary, Sierraloaded has also unveiled a new website design with features like easy navigation, mobile friendly interface, responsive design, better content readability, and faster page loading speed.
Head of Digital Transformation, Oluwasegun Balogun said the new website design is the outcome of deliberate and painstaking research aimed at retaining the loyal audience as well as drawing the interest of a new set of visitors to its platform.
“We are a technology-led media company, and our ultimate output is to bring convenience to our users. Every day, we think of new ideas to bring accurate information closer to people, this new website design is one that will make accessing our platform seamless and enjoyable.”, Balogun said.
In the same vein, the company has announced changes to its management structure, with the appointments of an award-winning journalist, Morlai Ibrahim Kamara as its Team Lead and Ibrahim Hashim as Editor and Head of the digital media editorial team.
Both Hashim and Karama joined Sierraloaded in 2021 and quickly rose through the ranks after proving themselves to be outstanding and relentless journalists. In the course of their career, the duo has constantly demonstrated a high consciousness of the ethics of journalism and digital publishing.
Kamara, a graduate of Fourah Bay College, is a recipient of the Vickie Remoe Prize For News Writing. Since joining Sierraloaded, he has pursued human interest and sports stories. He has over a thousand stories to his credit and was awarded a special certificate in 2021 by researchers from Bournemouth University for his contributions to the “Tie U Orjra Project.”
Hashim is an experienced investigative, digital, and human-interest journalist with a track record of modern editorial practice including a demonstrated history of social media and newsroom management. He holds a degree in Mass Communication from the Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. Before joining Sierraloaded, he worked for various media organizations including Salone Times, Premier News, Aureol Touch, and NewsWatch Newspaper. His works have been featured in top national dailies and publications in Sierra Leone and Africa.
Speaking on the appointments, Head of Content, Tolulope Aina affirmed that he is confident in the competency of these individuals and encouraged users to look forward to more from the digital media company.
“Sierraloaded is the biggest digital media platform and the second top online services industry website in Sierra Leone by Semrush rank. This is a big honour and great responsibility, and we put all our efforts not only to maintain our reputation but to analyse, develop and improve. From the beginning, our main principle has been to create high-quality relevant and exclusive content in alignment with our core values and we will continue to hold on to this.”
Aina further expressed appreciation to its users, team members, businesses, brands, and institutions who have partnered with Sierraloaded over the years adding that the company would continue to serve the interest of the general populace with integrity.
