Member Stories

Club Africa members share their business experiences with you! How did they get their start? What were their key learnings in setting up their business in Africa?

“When I see an interesting story, I pitch it!”

Arne Doornebal; freelance journalist in Kampala

Arne Doornebal (28) is an entrepreneur within a very special profession: he is a news correspondent in Kampala, Uganda, reporting for news agencies, newspapers and radio. “Reporting from within the region has great advantages over working from an editor’s desk in Europe. I offer the local touch, the right local connections, the real stories”, freelance journalist Arne explains.

Arne has just come back from Kampala, where he picked up his visa for a trip to the south of Sudan. “The red tape was OK, it took me less time than usual. That’s the advantage of knowing your way around.” Arne will travel to Sudan to take the role of local producer – a ‘fixer’ – for a TV crew from Europe that is coming over to cover the independence day of the world's newest nation: South Sudan. “This time my job is not to write or report. They´ve hired me because I know how to get things done around here.”

Adding value to local coverage

When he is not on one of his many trips, Arne files his reports on developments in Uganda, Kenia, Tanzania, Congo or wherever his clients need a report from. “Not long ago I travelled the Congo river for 29 days. A long trip, but the great stories made it worth wile. I am actually a small businessman, selling news”, he laughs. “The newspapers and radio networks I work for are interested in the added value that local coverage offers. Living here makes it possible to find the right sources for good stories. Sometime my clients ask me for a specific angle, but more often I will try to interest them in a story I came up with myself.”

Arne gets paid per article or per radio item. “My jobs mainly consist of isolated projects. I have a lot of freedom, but this life requires an active ‘business approach’ from my side. For instance, when I see an interesting story about Uganda’s waste policy or the development of the ICT sector in Kampala, I ‘pitch’ the story to my regular customers, hoping they´ll want it. I also travel to Europe once in a while to talk to editors there who may be interested in my work. It is hard to do that through Skype alone.”

Working in Africa, an appealing idea

How did Arne end up in Kampala? “About four years ago I worked for a local newspaper in Amsterdam. I had worked in Africa before as a volunteer. When I visited a seminar about journalism in Africa, a correspondent in South Africa told his story about the journalistic and economic issues there. The idea of working in Africa appealed to me right away, as I also had a girlfriend in Uganda. So, I quit my job, left my apartment and just went to Kampala. As simple as that.”

Arne is now married and has a one-year-old daughter with his Ugandan wife; it is therefore very likely that he will stay, as he says: “I love Africa, the adventure, the reporting, the life I live.”