Stears is a data and intelligence company with its headquarters spanning Lagos, Abuja, and London. Initially established as a media publication called Stears Business, the company was founded in 2017 by Preston Ideh, Abdul Abdulrahim, Foluso Ogunlana, and Michael Famoroti, who met at the London School of Economics and Imperial College in the United Kingdom.
Stears has evolved into a provider of subscription-based comprehensive data collection tools and insight services tailored to meet the needs of businesses and professionals operating or investing in Africa. The company’s mission is to become the world’s most trusted source of African data, insight and data collection tools for businesses, financial and policy professionals.
Stears has provided bespoke content around specific issues such as market entry, country analysis, and digital economy for international organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, and knowledge workers. This provides a great deal of data for the work of analysts, portfolio managers, researchers, and economists.
Stears raised $3.3 million in funding round from MaC Venture Capital, the investment firm of retired tennis star Serena Williams, Melo 7 Tech Partners, Omidyar Group’s Laminate Fund and Cascador.