About Us

A photo agency with a difference...

Majority World works with talented photographers from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.

We specialise in sourcing high quality images from these diverse continents, which provide unique insights into local cultures, environments and development issues.

We also work with client organisations to commission assignments for our photographers, who have the advantage of being able to understand and access the language, lifestyle, and locality - because it is their own.

...and a social enterprise

We are also a social enterprise - with a mission to create equal opportunities for our pool of talented photographers while communicating authentic visual stories to the rest of the world. We nurture and promote their creative talent and open new channels for them to tell their own stories, as well as the opportunity to establish their own digital enterprises.

...with roots and operations in the majority world

Majority World is an initiative of Drik. Drik is a picture library based in Bangladesh, that pioneers multimedia and journalistic skills in the region as well as being a champion for free and open media.

In keeping with this heritage, Majority World's senior management are experienced practitioners from the "majority world" itself. Majority Worlds operational hub is in Sri Lanka, but it maintains a presence in London in order that we can provide high standards of service to international markets.

...offering something special to our customers, distributors and partners

For the communities in which we work, we see doing business as a tool for doing good - every image purchased, every feature published and every assignment completed is making a direct economic impact.

For the talented photographers we work with we are opening doors - creating visibility, market access, and respect.

For their new global audiences we are opening minds - challenging perceptions and provide new sources of inspiration and insight.

Our Story

Creating new opportunities for emerging photographers from the majority world...

There are many talented photographers from the majority world - Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

But until now, they have remained largely invisible to the global image market.

Key issues include limited access to clients (who are concentrated in North America and Europe), inadequate digital tools, and/or insufficient resources to market themselves globally. Added to this are Western misconceptions of these photographers’ talent and vision that further limit their opportunities.

Majority World grew out of a desire to address the obstacles these photographers face…

Conceived in 2004, Majority World’s co-founders were Shahidul Alam, a world renowned Bangladeshi photographer who founded Drik, and Colin Hastings, an organisational consultant from the UK.

After extensive research and consultations within the industry, three main objectives were agreed upon:

First – to set up a digital portal featuring and promoting the work of talented majority world photographers.

Second – to market the skills of these photographers to all the major assignment commissioners and image buyers in the world.

Third – to put the photo agency on a sound financial footing to enable it to be sustainable in the long term.

Since creating the infrastructure and business systems with the help of a professional team in the UK we continue to provide strategic guidance and customer access from the UK, while being ably supported by a competent operations team based in Sri Lanka, from where we continue to provide high quality service to global markets and logistics support to our community of photographers.

Majority World’s start up finance has come from Shahidul Alam, Rowan Watts and Colin Hastings, generously complemented by significant financial support from the DOEN Foundation and UBM as well as an extensive pro-bono branding consultancy by Landor Associates, and digital expertise provided by Drik.

Although owned and managed from the majority world, Majority World is registered in the UK as a CIC (Community Interest Company) and maintains a presence in London, the gateway to the global image buying market.