Bloomberg Philantrophies will take its coveted financial journalism training to five new markets later this year, as the curtains draw on what has been a successful outing in sub-Saharan Africa’s three largest economies- Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya. In this interview with BusinessDay’s Lolade Akinmurele, Erana Stennett; Director, Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa (BMIA), recounts the journey so far and milestones achieved.
Would you say the BMIA programme has today attained every goal set at the inception of the program and how?
The aims of the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa are to advance business journalism in Africa by increasing the pipeline of skilled and diverse financial journalists; strengthen the skills and knowledge of media professionals; and enhance the capacity of government, business and civil society leaders to better understand and communicate business and economic concepts. With underwriting from Bloomberg Philanthropies, and support from the Ford Foundation, 568 delegates from 11 countries successfully completed the training, 94% of target. Forty-one percent of graduates were women and 114 media houses participated in the program. Delegates and employers in all three countries have consistently given the training program outstanding ratings. We believe these are solid metrics, and expect that over the next two-to-three years, outcomes will be as strong.
If you could change anything about the BMIA programme, what would it be?
We designed a cross-disciplinary training program to accommodate professional journalists based on advice from media owners and editors. The training runs six months with 19 contact days. Based on the data we collected after intakes one and two, we adjusted the number of study blocks and allowed ourselves an additional six months to complete the final intakes.
As you move beyond Nigeria, South-Africa and Kenya, what countries are next and how were they selected?
Due to the success of the program, and interest in the training from other countries (delegates from 11 countries took the training), Michael R. Bloomberg, and his foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies will expand the BMIA financial journalism training program to five new markets later this year. We will localize the curriculum and give journalists, mid-level professionals, and government policy makers the opportunity to continue their education and enhance their knowledge and understanding of financial and economic concepts essential to their work.
Relationship with the Lagos Business School, PAU; University of Lagos and the Gordon Institute of Business Science, as well as co-sponsors, Ford Foundation
We have been extremely fortunate to implement this training with strong in-country program partners, who managed, developed and delivered this unique training program. We worked with leading faculty from six preeminent business and journalism schools in Africa. GIBS as Program Secretariat did an outstanding job working across three countries with five educational institutions. Our funding partner, the Ford Foundation, has a long and exceptional record funding groundbreaking education programs that promote social justice, equality, and inclusive and sustainable development in Africa.
Plans to deepen footprints of BMIA training
Our plans include expanding the training to new markets; working with the current university consortium to embed the curriculum in their universities; and eventually to put the entire course online.
We will continue to convene media, business and technology leaders to explore best practices in media, advance business journalism; promote a free, fair and balance press; and contribute to a sustainable and viable media sector on the continent.
Impact of programme on the economies of Nigeria, South-Africa and Kenya
The BMIA financial journalism training program’s impact on the economy is too soon to measure. Our expectation is as journalists and other mid-level professionals complete the program, the knowledge and skills they developed will contribute to greater market transparency that will attract economic investment to further accelerate development and growth in Africa. We can say now however that journalists who completed the training program report writing more and higher quality stories focused on economics and business reporting since graduating, which strengthens the public’s knowledge and informs the investor community.
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