OUR HISTORY
Since its founding in 1981 and bolstered by a constant pursuit of innovation, the press group Indigo Publications has established itself as a pioneering figure in its field.
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2025 Double the Glitz
After three years and bolstered by the success of its investigations, in 2025, Glitz began publishing biweekly editions. In addition to its established columns dedicated to the luxury sector's key families, its houses and portraits of industry figures, Glitz launched two new recurring formats: Golden Miles and Counterfeiters .
2024 Setting up shop at Rue de la Fontaine au roi
Just a stone's throw away from Paris's Place de la République, in 2024, Indigo Publications moved into a historic building. What was once a silverware factory underwent a comprehensive renovation by the Datoo agency, with special attention paid to ensuring the space reflected Indigo's workplace culture.
This 1,600-square- meter complex, composed of two interconnected buildings, provided our 100 employees with an exceptional workplace to facilitate continued growth.
With its 175 desks, communal spaces, garden, quiet room, terraces, and even a townhouse for our international colleagues, our offices are much more than a simple workspace: they are the driving force behind our collective endeavours.
2024 Restructuring at Indigo Publications: creation of two new departments
In 2024, Indigo Publications embarked on an ambitious restructuring by creating two strategic departments:
- A Customer Service department dedicated to customer support and commercial development
- A Communication & Marketing department focused on client acquisition and developing the reach of its publications
This new internal organisation allowed Indigo Publications to consolidate its back- office departments and take its ambitions to the next level.
2024 Indigo Publications surpasses €10 million in turnover
After years of steady growth, Indigo Publications surpassed the €10-million turnover mark in 2024, reaching €10.2 million in annual revenues.
This +10% rise was the result of significant sales growth: an uptick in subscriptions (+15%) and an increase in readership (+48%) with a total of 34,000 readers.
The group also continued to expand globally, reaching 53% international clients (based in Africa, North America, Europe, the Middle East) and 47% France-based clients.
These results confirm Indigo Publications' capacity to pursue even more ambitious goals while relying on its highly effective business model.
2023 Indigo Publications acquires the Revue XXI
2023 La Lettre A becomes La Lettre
Founded in 1978 and acquired by Indigo Publications in 2007, the publication La Lettre A became La Lettre in 2023. La Lettre stands apart in France's media landscape thanks to investigations informed by exclusive access to the highest levels of decision-making.
Its information comes with a major strategic advantage: breaking news and in-depth investigations that allow readers to anticipate tectonic changes in France's key sectors.
2023 Rollout of Elcano: the CMS developed in-house for Indigo's editorial teams
2022 Creation of Glitz: the first investigative publication dedicated to the luxury sector
2021 Intelligence Online becomes a daily publication
Bolstered by the success of its investigations, Intelligence Online picked up the pace
by becoming a daily publication. This shift paved the way for the creation of new
investigative formats and allowed Intelligence Online to deepen its coverage of the
intelligence sector and diplomatic affairs.
These daily editions—covering subjects at both the local and global level—were by
far the best means of capturing an ever-evolving sector in which the lines between
public and private were becoming increasingly blurred.
2020 Magellan: technological independence to better serve our readers
In 2020, Indigo Publications finished an exhaustive reconfiguration of its Magellan software. From conception to final rollout, this project—developed entirely in- house—provided the group with an ultra-modern management tool (CRM/ERP), perfectly suited to its business model. Magellan's internal management allowed the Customer Service and Marketing teams to offer personalised services and optimise sales operations.
2020 Africa Intelligence becomes a daily publication
2010 West Africa Newsletter
In 2010, having established itself as the go-to resource on the Franco-African community, La Lettre du Continent broadened its scope to reach an international audience. It transitioned from being a French-only publication, to publishing its new iteration—West Africa Newsletter—in both French and English.
2011 La Lettre A: from full print to "companion website"
To mark the release of its 1,500 th edition, La Lettre A took a decisive step in its digital
development with the launch of "Entourages".
Initially conceived as a website
dedicated to behind-the-scenes investigations of the 2012 French presidential
election, this companion website would go on to become a digital publication in its
own right, investigating networks of influence at play within the new administration.
"Entourages" would go on to become one of the publication's emblematic columns,
investigating the networks of France's leadership.
2011 Acquisition of PresseNews
In 2011, Indigo Publications acquired PresseNews, a newsletter—created in 1995—that investigated the press in both its print and digital iterations.
2012 Launch of "Insiders": the editorial format that would become "Entourages"
2012 PresseNews broadens its scope with a new directory: 4ePouvoir
It ushered in a new era for the website by providing access to a highly responsive data base.
Its fluid navigation provided a professional readership with real-time information on official appointments and company results.
2013 Who's really behind major international contracts?
2013 The transition to 100% digital
2014 La Lettre A receives a new visual identity and goes mobile
In 2014, La Lettre A embarked on a revamp of its visual identity—in tandem with the Rampazzo & Associés agency—to reaffirm its raison d'être: providing an unparalleled look at France's apparatuses of power. Its new layout offered a streamlined reading experience, employing thematic columns to highlight key information. An app was also developed and released.
2014 Release of the Africa Intelligence app
2015 The culmination of Africa Intelligence's digital transition
2017 A modernised publication and the launch of a "Major contracts" column
2018 La Lettre A becomes a daily publication
This new iteration of the publication was structured around four recurring investigative columns: "In Focus", "Spotlight", "Entourages" and "Running Stories".
2000 Africa Mining Intelligence
With the rapid expansion of the mining and energy sectors in Africa, Indigo Publications continued to hone its expertise with the launch of Africa Mining Intelligence. It also renamed La Lettre Afrique Energiesas Africa Energy Intelligence, marking a shift in its editorial line to focus exclusively on developments in the energy sector.
2001 The Intelligence Newsletter becomes Intelligence Online
In 2001, The Intelligence Newsletter and its French version Le Monde du Renseignement were combined to become Intelligence Online. This change further established it as the go-to resource on the intelligence sector.
2003 Acquisition of Lettre Afrique Expansion
In a strategic move that enhanced La Lettre du Continent's journalistic output, Indigo Publications acquired La Lettre Afrique Expansion from the press group Le Moniteur.
2004 Launch of the "Intelligence Online Reports" collection
The first of its kind, the collection’s debut presented readers with exclusive portraits of the 100 top decision-makers in France’s business intelligence sector.
A second collection, released in 2005, would go on to spotlight France's 100 leading corporate lobbyists.
2006 The Indian Ocean Newsletter picks up the pace
It began publishing articles in real-time, focusing on exclusive breaking news.
2007 Indigo Publications acquires La Lettre A
In 2007, Indigo Publications acquired La Lettre A from journalist and entrepreneur
Jean-Michel Quatrepoint.
Since its creation in 1978, this weekly publication had
catered to a readership of high-level decision-makers in France by deciphering the
power dynamics at play in business and politics. At the same time, Indigo
Publications launched La Lettre A's website.
2009 Commitment to digital news and the founding of Spiil
Indigo Publications was one of the founding members of the Syndicat de la Presse Indépendante d’Information en Ligne (Spiil), an organisation devoted to developing digital media outlets and defending the interests independent publishing. Maurice Botbol served as its president until 2018.
1990 Spotlight on the Maghreb
1993 Breaking new ground with digital
In the early 1990s, at a time when information databases in Europe were scarce, Maurice Botbol was already preparing for the digital revolution.
As early as 1993, he signed a strategic agreement with LexisNexis's London office to integrate the entirety of Indigo's publications into its system. This early digitisation continued in the following years with Factiva, CD-ROM SNI and l’EDD, allowing Indigo Publications to consolidate its archives within a reliable database.
These advancements would provide the foundation upon which, two years later, the group's first website would be built.
1995 Launch of Indigo's first website
1996 Launch of the Africa Intelligence website
With the release of Africa Intelligence—the first website devoted exclusively to the African continent—Indigo Publications broke new ground. This platform brought together the group's five emblematic publications: La Lettre du Continent, The Indian Ocean Newsletter,, Maghreb Confidential, Africa Energy Intelligence and Africa Mining IntelligenceFrom the outset,Intelligence Online this website used the same business model as that created the year before by Intelligence Online.
1999 Launch of the Magellan project
With the rise of digital publicating, Indigo Publications encountered a new technical challenge: consolidating its databases (print subscribers, prospective subscribers and online subscribers) which, until then, had been managed individually. Given that there was no software on the market to meet this need, Indigo Publications launched the Magellan project.
Over the next few years, it would go on to develop a centralised information system to consolidate its editorial, marketing and financial data.
In 2002, Indigo created an in-house IT department to take the project to the next level and continue refining this strategic tool.
1981 In the Beginning was the Indian Ocean
While working as a freelance journalist, Maurice Botbol founded Indigo Publications:
the self-declared "smallest international press group in the world.” Not long after, he
launched The Indian Ocean Newsletter—an advertisement-free weekly release,
published in both French and English. This subscription-only publication rapidly
became an indispensable source of strategic information on the region.
Its raison d'être was to provide its professional readership with a comprehensive
understanding of the networks of power and influence, political standoffs and
economic developments at play in East Africa, southern Africa and the islands of the
Indian Ocean.
1983 Oil, gas and electricity in Africa
Les publications La Lettre Afrique Energies et son pendant anglophone, Africa Energy and Mining, sont lancées avec le soutien actif d’Antoine Glaser, journaliste spécialiste du continent africain.
L’objectif est de couvrir essentiellement des enjeux stratégiques de l’exploitation pétrolière en Afrique.
1985 Launch of a publication dedicated to French-speaking Africa
1989 Coverage of the intelligence sector
Indigo Publications broadened the scope of its investigations by acquiring Le Monde du Renseignement and its English equivalent the Intelligence Newsletter in 1989. This bilingual publication covered international intelligence services operating in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the former Soviet Union.
