Launching or Professionalising a Scientific Journal in Africa

Many African universities, doctoral schools and learned societies publish a scientific journal. Yet many of these journals remain invisible to researchers elsewhere in the world. The gap rarely comes down to the quality of the research: it comes down to the editorial process and to the signals of credibility that indexes and search engines look for.

Visibility comes first

A study published in 2025 in Gates Open Research (version 1, still awaiting peer review) analysed 1,116 African journals listed on Sabinet and AJOL. The largest group, 63.2%, was neither discoverable by Google Scholar nor indexed in Scopus. The clearest predictor was almost administrative: being listed on the ISSN portal roughly doubled the odds of being found by Google Scholar and multiplied the odds of Scopus inclusion by more than five.

African platforms can help. At the time of writing (October 2026), African Journals OnLine (AJOL) lists 977 journals from 40 countries, 458 of them open access. AJOL assesses its partner journals with a dedicated framework, JPPS (Journal Publishing Practices and Standards), based on editorial best practice. The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), free for publishers, is the other key reference for open access journals.

What indexes expect: the DOAJ example

DOAJ’s inclusion criteria make a good professionalisation checklist, even if you are not applying yet:

• Regular output: at least five research articles a year; a new journal must show one year of publishing history or at least ten published articles before applying.
• Genuine peer review: each article is reviewed by at least two independent reviewers (specific rules apply to the arts and humanities).
• A public editorial board: names and affiliations displayed; DOAJ recommends at least five qualified members, not all from the same institution.
• Clear rights: an open licence, preferably Creative Commons, and an explicit copyright policy.
• A registered ISSN displayed on the website, with a title matching the registry.
• Transparency: open access policy, aims and scope, author guidelines and any fees published online.

Integrity: a requirement, not an option

The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) published the current version of its Code of Conduct in July 2026. Among other things, it asks members to safeguard the integrity of the scholarly record, train staff and reviewers regularly, manage conflicts of interest among authors, reviewers and editors, investigate suspected misconduct before or after publication, correct errors transparently and offer a clear complaints process. Joining COPE, or simply applying its guidance, reassures authors, reviewers and indexing services.

The international context points the same way. The UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science, adopted in 2021 by 193 countries, encourages investment in the infrastructure and skills that make research accessible to all. A well-run open access journal contributes directly to that goal.

Turnaround times: the most visible weakness

For researchers, especially early-career ones, the time from submission to decision weighs heavily when choosing a journal. Delays rarely stem from bad will: invitations sent by email and then forgotten, scattered manuscript versions, manual reminders, and no overview for the editor-in-chief. A structured editorial workflow, with clear stages and automatic reminders, cuts much of that lost time. Publishing your average turnaround times on the journal’s website is also a sign of transparency that authors appreciate.

Checklist for professionalising your journal

1. Obtain an ISSN and display it on every page of the journal.
2. Publish the editorial board with names, affiliations and roles.
3. Write a review policy: number of reviewers, single- or double-blind review, evaluation form.
4. Choose an open licence and state it on every article.
5. Adopt an ethics policy inspired by COPE: conflicts of interest, plagiarism, corrections, retractions.
6. Formalise the editorial workflow: receipt, review, revision, decision.
7. Track turnaround at every stage and chase late reviewers.
8. Publish issues on a regular schedule, then apply to AJOL and DOAJ.

How SciAut Revue helps

SciAut Revue is the review and publishing app of the SciAut Suite, designed for editors, reviewers and authors. It supports the editorial process described above:

• Submission: upload of articles, co-authors, files and metadata.
• Editorial workflow: receipt, review, revision and decision, with configurable stages.
• Peer review: invitations, evaluation forms, single- or double-blind review.
• Decisions and revisions: acceptance, revision or rejection, with successive versions kept.
• Online issues: issues and articles published on the journal’s page.
• Notifications: emails at every stage and reminders to late reviewers.

The software does not replace ISSN registration or indexing applications, but it makes your process traceable and regular, which is exactly what those applications require.

In short

Professionalising a scientific journal in Africa is above all about making rigorous practice visible: documented peer review, stated ethics, controlled turnaround times and regular publication. Explore SciAut Revue or book a demo.

Sources

• Discoverability of African Journals by Google Scholar and Inclusion in Scopus, P. Amboka et al., Gates Open Research, 2025.
• African Journals OnLine: journal catalogue, AJOL, accessed 2026.
• Guide to applying, DOAJ, accessed 2026.
• Code of Conduct, COPE, 2026.
• UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science, UNESCO, 2021.