Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa (BMIA) recently announced the creation of a $1 million fund to build capacity for civil society community media organizations in three countries – Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa – who are working to advance a deeper understanding of business and financial journalism, social justice, innovation and data to support transparency, accountability and good governance across Africa. This announcement follows the success of the inaugural Bloomberg Africa Business Media Innovators forum in Johannesburg last week, which convened close to 100 media and business influencers from 12 countries to explore the role business and financial journalism play in contributing to inclusive and sustainable economic growth on the continent.
Support for community media organization will be provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Ford Foundation, and a number of foundations on the continent. Grants will be awarded over the next three years to small and mid-size NGOs, community-based organizations, and digital media entrepreneurs in the areas of social justice, media innovation, business journalism and data. The program is intended to enhance citizen access to localized data and statistical information, drive the development of new technology to deliver new media content, and improve citizens’ understanding of business and finance principles to empower them to support policies and practices that accelerate economic and human development in Africa.
BMIA Director Erana Stennett said: “Within Africa there is a large and growing community media sector linked to enterprises, civil society, and educational institutions, as well as NGO’s that focus attention on issues of transparency, accountability and governance. BMIA seeks to implement this program element to include provincial, local and community media aimed at rural and lower income audiences. Through its diverse offerings, BMIA aims to support a more informed citizenry about business, financial and public policy issues, particularly by strengthening community media and relevant civil society organizations.”
“Strengthening the role of community media and civil society organizations to understand financial and business matters will create new narratives that may empower citizens to help transform systems and address inequalities,” said Rosemary Okello-Orlale, Program Officer, Advancing Public Service Media for the Ford Foundation. “These grants will act as a catalyst to give communities access to financial information, data and technology and a voice in economic and human development issues in order to foster democratic practices critical to disrupting inequality.”
The BMIA Community Media Fund is a component of the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa (BMIA), a pan-African program launched by Michael R. Bloomberg last year, to strengthen media capacity, promote innovation in the sector and improve access to high-quality data and information on the continent. The aim of BMIA is to accelerate the development of a globally competitive media and financial reporting industry and to enhance the contribution of the media to accountability, transparency and good governance.
