The African Media Initiative (AMI) is inviting entries from individual journalists and newsrooms with unique story ideas or projects on business and technology that can only be produced with substantial support.
AMI announced the new funding opportunities for business and technology stories in its pan-African journalism competition.
AMI said, “The top 20 multimedia projects that show the best potential for adopting innovative storytelling techniques using data journalism tools will be shortlisted for the final prize and will be awarded grants of up to $20,000 to produce the stories for broadcast and publication.”
Shortlisted stories will focus on any topical business and technology angle of interest to a wider African audience. The winning journalists and organizations will employ in-depth research and investigative journalism and engage in cross-platform approaches and interactive applications to ensure the story reaches as many people as possible on a variety of media devices, the statement said.
According to Joseph Warungu, former BBC Africa Editor, “This competition aims at encouraging and supporting African media to promote a better quality of life for our people by producing more and better stories on the issues that really matter.”
Amadou Mahtar Ba, AMI Chief Executive added, “It’s widely acknowledged that Africa is on the rise and leading the way on many fronts such as mobile money. To continue telling this story of growth and innovation well, the media in Africa must be supported and strengthened. AMI is committed to this goal through the Story Challenge and by finding disruptive digital ideas for improving the way that news is collected and disseminated.”
According to the organizer, African Story Challenge runs on thematic cycles. The first one was on Agriculture and Food Security and the second one, which is coming to an end, has been on Health.
The African Story Challenge is a project of the African Media Initiative (AMI), the continent’s largest association of media owners and operators. AMI Content Development Director and former Knight International Journalism Fellow Joseph Warungu is leading the project. The Knight Fellowships are administered by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ).
The African Story Challenge is supported by a grant of $800,000 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The programme also has support from the African Development Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).
For more information, visit www.africanmediainitiative.org
