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Author: Asdaa Kotani

VP, Institutional Sales, PÕ¾ÊÓƵ

When people talk about open access, they often focus on what is changing. After nearly 20 years working with researchers and institutions across Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India, what strikes me most is what has actually stayed the same. Whether I am speaking to researchers in Cairo, Bangalore or Bucharest, there is a constant desire to make their work more visible, more impactful and more accessible to those who can build on it. 

What differs are the circumstances in which institutions are working and the pathways to OA available to them. That is why progress towards open access rarely follows the same route everywhere. Over that time, I have watched OA move from something many people were still trying to understand to a central part of the conversation about the future of research publishing. That change in scale has been extraordinary. More than half of PÕ¾ÊÓƵ's primary research is now published OA, and our OA agreements supported more than, reaching researchers at more than 4,400 institutions worldwide. 

We have seen growth globally, including in regions where some expected progress to be slower.  Some countries have established funding mechanisms and policy frameworks that support rapid progress, while others are still building awareness, infrastructure and support. Over the years, I have seen that play out in different ways across the regions I work with. 

One of the moments that stands out for me was Egypt’s decision to adopt a transformative agreement, making it one of the first countries in Africa to do so. At the time, PÕ¾ÊÓƵ was the only publisher selected to work with the country to deliver the agreement. It demonstrated what can be achieved when a clear commitment to OA is matched with strong local partnerships and an understanding of national priorities. 

India reinforced that lesson in a different way. As one of the world's leading research nations, India has enormous research potential and a strong appetite for OA. But greater awareness, training and support were needed, while funding structures made adoption less straightforward. Working alongside India's national subscription environment, we focused on institutional agreements with private universities and on understanding the barriers they faced. That approach has resulted in more than 20 institutional agreements over the past two years and created a strong foundation for further progress.  

For me, both examples point to the same lesson: progress depends not on applying a single model, but on understanding what institutions need to make OA work in their own context. 

The first phase of OA growth showed that OA can work at scale. The next phase is ensuring that those benefits reach more researchers and institutions around the world. 

After nearly 20 years in this space, I remain optimistic. Not because every challenge has been solved, but because I continue to see a strong commitment from researchers, institutions and publishers to make research more accessible and more impactful. If we can continue to combine that shared ambition with approaches that reflect local needs, the benefits of OA can be extended to even more researchers, institutions and communities around the world. 

Joining us at Frankfurt Book Fair this year? Hear Asdaa explore this theme in more detail, with examples from Malaysia, Japan and Europe, in One Open Access Transition, Many Regional Journeys, on Wednesday, October 7, 2026 from 11.30 am–12 noon at Knowledge Hub 4.1.